Meraviglia Western Med Review - Dec. 17-24

On this thread we will be reviewing our MSC Meraviglia Western Mediterranean cruise. We sailed from December 17-24. This was our first cruise with MSC, and we booked super last minute as we are currently living in Italy as we travel around Europe.

That all being said, we have heard both fabulous and some iffy reviews about MSC cruising in generally. We do research quite often and watch plenty of Vlogs on YouTube to help give us a good idea of what we are getting ourselves into. We watched the naming ceremony for the MSC Meraviglia from earlier this year and love that we had the opportunity to book a cheap last minute room on her for the week before Christmas.

I hope you enjoy and continue to read our as honest as possible review from how we experienced the beautiful ship MSC Meraviglia.

Yours Truly,

Macon and Shane :D

Macon and Shane, I look forward to reading your review.

Happy Holidays.

Keith

Will be following your review!

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Following, and Merry Christmas!

Day 1 - Travel and Embarkation Day - Dec 17

This was the day! We had already packed all our luggage into our car and arranged pet care for our week of vacation. Needless to say, we are super excited!! We head on out and park at the train station and hop on for our journey from Vicenza to Genova for embarkation. Our journey took about 3 1/2 hours for travel time with a change over in Milano Centrale. We had plenty of time and made our connection train perfectly. Arrival time at Genova Piazza Principe was right around 10:30. Made for a quick, economical travel day.

We exited the train station from the main entrance and confused ourselves as we exited, trying to find our way straight to the port. Once we asked some locals for help they pointed us in the right direction and off our walk went!

Then we turned the corner to this glorious sight! Holy wow!! First instinct, my lordy, she is a big ship! Quick photo and down the steps straight into the port.

This is where things get a bit tricky for us, and honestly, I chalk that up to the fact that we are Americans... and sometimes we miss the little signs that tell us where to go and put things. We arrived at the Genova port on the upper level and had to take elevator down to the lower level. We did not notice signs for our luggage drop off, so we go to get our documents checked for pre-boarding and they notice we have our big suitcase and point us in the right direction to drop it off. We laughed it off and continued on our merry way. All in all, very simple and quick process for embarkation. The line for official document checks and to received cruise cards took a mere 10-15 minutes. In all, it took a little less than 30 minutes for embarkation before we were boarding the ship!

And let me tell you... That first impression when you board is HOLY GORGEOUS! Now, there were a few employees standing there with drink package signs waiting for the selling to start as people were boarding. They weren't vocal yet but were ready for the sale. This didn't bother us as we already knew we were going to purchase the Coffee package and Beer package. (BTW... Both were totally worth it!) Once we knocked that out of the way, we finally turned the corner into the main Promenade. We "Oohed and Ahhed" since it was gorgeous and a rather large space. Also, it was not crowded.. at all! Granted, we did board fairly early; however, even with current passengers it was almost ghost-townish.

There was so much that we did within the first few hours of boarding. All was pretty standard for boarding. Activating our cruise cards, stopping by reception to put some cash onto our account (in hopes of keeping a sane budget), stopped by the room to drop the last of our gear, went up to the buffet to grab some lunch, and the list goes on! When we stopped by the room, it was about noon, and was pretty much cleaned up already. There were still a few things left to clean up, but they let us go ahead and leave our stuff in our room. The buffet was dead! Few people up there ready for the food. Granted, we did go around 12:30 and that is only a half hour after opening. We found a quaint table at the aft with plenty of seating to go around, even after the mobs of people starting coming.

After we finished our lovely lunch, we went down to the spa to see what services were available. Upon arrival, we decided to purchase the Thermal Spa package for the duration of our cruise. This was by far the best investment we made on this entire cruise! We spent almost every day, the only one we missed was Palma, in the thermal spa for at least a hour and a half if not more. It was never noticeably crowded and the perfect place for some relaxation as the hot tubs up top were often full up with people.

After we finished with our spa purchases, we decided it was Beer :30! And where do you go for beer? The one and only Brass Anchor Pub! This place was fabulous! Many beers on tap and plenty bottles to go around too. We love beer and trying new ones often so this worked perfectly for us.

Once we finished Beer 30, it was time for the Muster drill so we attended straight to our drill station in the Meraviglia Bar and Lounge. From there, we went through the steps while we sipped on an expertly made Cafe Latte.

And the explorations continued!! We walked the entire ship and were in awe every step we took. Went ahead and went up to deck 16 to the SportsPlex to get our Polar Aqua Park bands for the ropes course and water slides. IMPORTANT! You have to have signed the release form and received the bracelet before you can go on the ropes course or slides!! Get these before heading to deck 18 if you plan on doing these at all! Then we headed down the back staircases to deck 15, which is the back of the buffet. We went to grab some coffee and tea to watch sail away.

Then it was time to head back to our room to unpack and get ready for our late seating dinner. We booked an Inside Fantastica cabin. Now, this cabin was actually pretty large just for the two of us, but we appreciated the little bit of extra space. This was the first inside cabin we have ever had together (Shane has been in a few on previous cruises) and we were skeptical of the category. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find we loved it! Dark as dark gets, but still not need for us to have an alarm as we have internal alarms waking us by 7:30am. So, we unpacked and got dressed for dinner. Dinner was a set seating time of 9pm for us. Since we live in Europe right now, 9pm was not that late as we are used to eating later since that is how the Italians we live by happen to eat. This could be too late for families with children or people who are used to more in between times such as 7-8pm eating time. For that purpose, please be diligent and request early dining as most dining times seat between 6:30 and 7:30pm.

Dinner was quite good. We enjoyed a 6 top table to ourselves as no one else was assigned to our table for the duration of our cruise. Unfortunately, we were so focused in food that we did not remember to take pictures of the daily dining menus. Therefore, we cannot remember every dishes exact title. The first nights dinners included for appetizers: Minestrone Soup and Caprese Salad. Main Course was a turkey dish with roasted potatoes and turkey gravy and pasta with seafood red sauce. Desert contained an open face apple fritter of sorts and a double chocolate coffee bar cake slice. So delicious!!

** Also, because we know this is a big deal for some people and there are mixed reviews in regards to this. We were two people sitting by ourselves at dinner. Dinner was served in a complete timely manner. By the time we had finished dinner it laster nearly an hour. That is perfect for us and we even had a little time between each course to let it settle before digging into the next. Now, we noticed that those who were sitting at tables with larger groups would definitely be receiving their dishes much later than us. There were several tables of 6-10 people would be receiving their appetizers as we finish our main dishes. Truly, it depends on how focused you are about receiving your food quickly. Dining in Europe is much more laid back and meant to be an experience and entertaining conversation type of thing. Don't get too put off if your dishes come out a little later. Enjoy your table mates and have fantastic conversation over a glass of wine. It's to die for!! **

Now, we are old souls in younger bodies. After the longer day of travel and getting accustom to the ship and all the excitement, we decided to head off to bed early this first night. Bed time was at 10:30 and we were excited for the next day!

Next day - Civitavecchia!

Until tomorrow! Enjoy Day One in Genova.

Ciao Ciao!!

Macon and Shane

Also, I am attaching a link with all our photos from our wonderful trip!! They are in order of each port.

Starting:

1. Genova

2. Civitavecchia (we did not get off the ship)

3. Palermo

4. Surprise Day at Sea (Was supposed to be in Malta, but the seas were too rough and the port closed down)

5. Half Day at Sea and arrival in Palma de Mallorca at 1pm

6. Barcelona

7. Marseille

I hope you enjoy them! I will still try to upload pictures to each days post, but we took so many and I won't be able to upload all of them. Thank you for reading, and I hope you stick around!

-Macon and Shane

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QcWANZ3dutIgl2xz1

Following your review.

I am excited for your review, thank you in advance for writing it. Quick question: what could you do in Genoa? I understand that you boarded your ship there, but do you know of any things to see or things to do there? We will be docking there on our Seaview cruise in July. Thank you!

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I am excited for your review, thank you in advance for writing it. Quick question: what could you do in Genoa? I understand that you boarded your ship there, but do you know of any things to see or things to do there? We will be docking there on our Seaview cruise in July. Thank you!

 

 

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OceansofTravels:

There are plenty of options for things to do in Genoa. When we moved here we have heard fantastic things about the Genoa Aquarium and plan on making another trip just to spend a day there. Also, as we got off the ship we noticed there are Hop-On, Hop-Off buses that will take you through tours of the city. The ship also had a Shore Excursion guide put together for all the ports of call. Since you will be cruising on Seaview, I would hope they may have a set up similar to help you plan your excursions. The city itself is absolutely stunning. We did not spend much time exploring as we were anxious to get home to our furry children. However, there is so much to see around Genoa in general and plenty of walking will take you on quite the adventure!

I hope this helps you plan out something to do. :D There is much more to do as well I'm sure, we just don't quite have the wealth of knowledge for everything.

-Macon

Love this [emoji1303]

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Day 2 - Civitavecchia - Early Morning Expeditions by Shane

*As stated before, we did not get off the ship today since we live in Italy and can visit whenever.

Being this is our first morning on the ship, Shane woke up early and decided to take the time in the morning to explore the ship while she was still pretty silent.

*We would now like to introduce our Guest Writer, Shane!*

This is the perfect time to really get a feel for her size and beauty without running into to many fellow passengers. Also during this time, we were pulling into the Civitavecchia port, so some time was spent up in the Sky view Lounge to watch the arrival while staying warm.

Whilst exploring the ship, I found my way to the outdoor promenade. Towards the aft of the ship, the deck can be reached from either side of the Champagne Bar and follows the ship to Carousel Terrace, which is nice outdoor hang out spot near the Carousel Lounge. While there is access to the lounge from the terrace, most times the fire/show doors are shut, so it never seems like you could access the lounge from the terrace or vice versa. The terrace is shown on the onboard screens, but never seemed to have anyone out there. I wonder if during the summer months if it is more utilized, because when it is a bit cold and windy, I could see why most people wouldn't want to spend time there. Same goes for the outdoor promenade area. Most times I felt like I was in an area where I shouldn't have been, as the occasional person I would see out there was usually crew members. Although when passing the crew, they would often say hello or good morning, but never indicated I shouldn't be there. Which was great, as it provided some great views for our arrival into the port. And a while I didn't actually check it, it appeared as if you could walk from port to starboard in the forward part of the deck.

After about two hours or so wandering the ship from top to bottom, aft to front, I decided I would surprise Macon with a light breakfast in bed. So I went up to the buffet, which was starting to get rather busy, headed to the rear where there where far fewer crowds, grabbed a plate of goodies, and went off to the room. This was the first time I started to notice a "people problem." It's not that there's a lot of people aboard, it is that there are many people who need a little more common sense. With a large plate of food, a coffee and a juice, I was patiently waiting for starboard panoramic elevator, where an older lady and some I'll presume her family members were super impatiently waiting for the elevator. They were there before me, but I could tell that we had just missed it going down. They however felt like the need to press the button once every 10 seconds, as if that would make it go faster. Watching it stop on just about every floor from 12 down to 8, I decided I'd pass. Plus their lack of patience was starting to irritate me. So I headed to the aft central elevators where I ran into a crowd who also seemed to lack common sense or courtesy. When a down elevator did finally arrive, this crowd of people pushed passed me in such a hurry that I nearly dropped everything I had in my hands, whilst pushing themselves onto the elevator, even though there were plenty of people trying to get off first. At this point, I was done with people in tight areas, food was getting cold, so I took the near deserted stairs. Upon arrival to the room, I discovered that Macon had went off searching for me, which lead to a wild goose chase around the ship. Finally we both had the sense of using our phones, and met up in the Brass Anchor. We ate the now cold food, and decided that a more proper, warm breakfast was needed.

*Back to you, Macon*

That concludes the first part of the day for our adventures in Civitavecchia! We will return soon for the rest of the days post. Have a wonderful rest of your day!

Ciao!

Macon and Shane

Hey y'all! Sorry for the radio silence the last few days. Crazy time of the year it is, and we have been busier than dogs. I hope you've been following! We've noticed some of our posts were rather long, so we are going try to shorten them up a bit by giving the important info we believe will help you make the most of your vacation.

We will be continuing on with Day 2 on Meraviglia.

Day 2 - Civitavecchia

*This day we did not get off the ship.

As Shane had stated on our previous post, we did a bit of Marco Polo on the ship trying to find each other, but we eventually met up at Brass Anchor Pub around 8-8:30 in the morning. The promenade was actually rather empty, even with the ship having already docked at Civitavecchia. That being said, once I finished what was supposed to be breakfast in bed, we decided on second breakfast we were still rather hungry and walked to the atrium. This place was packed!! Tons of people already lining up and grouped up to get of the ship for excursions and disembarkation. It was quite loud, but heartily so.

We headed to breakfast and it was actually quite lovely. Came rather quickly and we appreciated that we could get a glass of cool water without any extra added cost.

From there, we kept the day rather simple. We headed back to our room, changed into our swimsuits and went on down to the Thermal Spa Seriously, I cannot stress enough how worthy this cost was! I was pretty iffy on the extra cost to begin with, but after the first session in the spa, I've got to say this was the best purchase we made the entire cruise. We particularly enjoyed the Mediterranean Bath Sauna and the Salt relaxation room. We've even snoozed a few times in those loungers that's how relaxing it was!

After some time in the Thermal Spa, we decided it was lunch time. Right around noon, we decided that we needed some meat. So we decided to give Butcher's Cut a try. Now, I'm a Kansas girl... Living in Italy. Therefore, meat is kind of a big deal in my diet and honestly, I was extremely disappointed in our overall experience at Butcher's Cut. The food was merely okay. Shane got a steak with some of the baked Mac'n'Cheese, and I got the Kobe sliders. The Kobe sliders were completely worth the purchase and the least expensive item we got. However, that did not make the price worth it in the long run. The service was great and since we decided to have lunch there; no lines, no reservations, and it wasn't loud.

We walked around the ship for a good hour after lunch before deciding it was time to head back down to the Thermal Spa. Once again, best decision ever!!! <3<3

As we explore the ship, we meet extremely nice employees who go completely out of their way to make sure our needs are met. We are low maintenance people and very easy to please, but this staff was seriously fabulous. Also, and I know many people have differing opinions of this, most of the staff understood and spoke good English. They understood basics and questions asked and could help in any situation. We always greet people with a smile and appreciation.

For dinner, we had reservations for Kaito Teppanyaki. Teppanyaki is my favorite type of food and is very hard to come by in Italy, so this was a must! Completely worth the cost and entertainment! We loved that the menu had 4-5 different options for food. There were three meat and seafood options, one vegetarian option, and a kids menu. So good!! So worth it! Go if you can and love the Teppanyaki style of food.

After dinner, we ventured to the Casino. This always ends with me losing money and Shane doubling his at the Roulette table. It was enjoyable and the staff is always friendly.

That's the wonderful end to Day 2!! If you have any questions or would like more clear details on any events listed in our review, please feel free to ask! Have a wonderful rest of your day and a Happy New Year to all of you!!!

-Macon

Thanks for review! I am looking at this ship with my very elderly mother! Would you say it would be OK for her?

Are there quiet places to sit and read and watch the waves? Are there any quieter musical events, such as a trio playing (as there was on Preziosa).

Thanks

Thanks for review! I am looking at this ship with my very elderly mother! Would you say it would be OK for her?

Are there quiet places to sit and read and watch the waves? Are there any quieter musical events, such as a trio playing (as there was on Preziosa).

Thanks

Little Britain,

This ship would be perfect for her! There are plenty of sit by the side and relax to watch the waves areas. There is also a very small, extremely limited, library on board. It is on deck 7, behind the Champagne Bar with the perfect windows to turn her chair around and watch the waves. In the main atrium, on deck 5, there is generally a pianist who may or may not be accompanied by a vocalist, violinist, guitarist, or bassist. They play lovely music that is great for relaxing. The dailies all have the quieter musical events listed and their locations. It should be a wonderful experience for your mother. :D

I hope you both have a fabulous time aboard the Meraviglia. I know there are some negative reviews on her, but we found her to be a great cruise for us. We are simple people and very easy to please and this was perfect. Enjoy your holiday and have a happy new year!

-Macon

Thanks so much for posting. Really enjoying your entertaining writing style. Happy New Year

Day 1 - Travel and Embarkation Day - Dec 17

 

 

 

 

 

This was the day! We had already packed all our luggage into our car and arranged pet care for our week of vacation. Needless to say, we are super excited!! We head on out and park at the train station and hop on for our journey from Vicenza to Genova for embarkation. Our journey took about 3 1/2 hours for travel time with a change over in Milano Centrale. We had plenty of time and made our connection train perfectly. Arrival time at Genova Piazza Principe was right around 10:30. Made for a quick, economical travel day.

 

 

 

We exited the train station from the main entrance and confused ourselves as we exited, trying to find our way straight to the port. Once we asked some locals for help they pointed us in the right direction and off our walk went!

 

 

 

Then we turned the corner to this glorious sight! Holy wow!! First instinct, my lordy, she is a big ship! Quick photo and down the steps straight into the port.

 

 

 

This is where things get a bit tricky for us, and honestly, I chalk that up to the fact that we are Americans... and sometimes we miss the little signs that tell us where to go and put things. We arrived at the Genova port on the upper level and had to take elevator down to the lower level. We did not notice signs for our luggage drop off, so we go to get our documents checked for pre-boarding and they notice we have our big suitcase and point us in the right direction to drop it off. We laughed it off and continued on our merry way. All in all, very simple and quick process for embarkation. The line for official document checks and to received cruise cards took a mere 10-15 minutes. In all, it took a little less than 30 minutes for embarkation before we were boarding the ship!

 

 

 

And let me tell you... That first impression when you board is HOLY GORGEOUS! Now, there were a few employees standing there with drink package signs waiting for the selling to start as people were boarding. They weren't vocal yet but were ready for the sale. This didn't bother us as we already knew we were going to purchase the Coffee package and Beer package. (BTW... Both were totally worth it!) Once we knocked that out of the way, we finally turned the corner into the main Promenade. We "Oohed and Ahhed" since it was gorgeous and a rather large space. Also, it was not crowded.. at all! Granted, we did board fairly early; however, even with current passengers it was almost ghost-townish.

 

 

 

There was so much that we did within the first few hours of boarding. All was pretty standard for boarding. Activating our cruise cards, stopping by reception to put some cash onto our account (in hopes of keeping a sane budget), stopped by the room to drop the last of our gear, went up to the buffet to grab some lunch, and the list goes on! When we stopped by the room, it was about noon, and was pretty much cleaned up already. There were still a few things left to clean up, but they let us go ahead and leave our stuff in our room. The buffet was dead! Few people up there ready for the food. Granted, we did go around 12:30 and that is only a half hour after opening. We found a quaint table at the aft with plenty of seating to go around, even after the mobs of people starting coming.

 

 

 

After we finished our lovely lunch, we went down to the spa to see what services were available. Upon arrival, we decided to purchase the Thermal Spa package for the duration of our cruise. This was by far the best investment we made on this entire cruise! We spent almost every day, the only one we missed was Palma, in the thermal spa for at least a hour and a half if not more. It was never noticeably crowded and the perfect place for some relaxation as the hot tubs up top were often full up with people.

 

 

 

After we finished with our spa purchases, we decided it was Beer :30! And where do you go for beer? The one and only Brass Anchor Pub! This place was fabulous! Many beers on tap and plenty bottles to go around too. We love beer and trying new ones often so this worked perfectly for us.

 

 

 

Once we finished Beer 30, it was time for the Muster drill so we attended straight to our drill station in the Meraviglia Bar and Lounge. From there, we went through the steps while we sipped on an expertly made Cafe Latte.

 

 

 

And the explorations continued!! We walked the entire ship and were in awe every step we took. Went ahead and went up to deck 16 to the SportsPlex to get our Polar Aqua Park bands for the ropes course and water slides. IMPORTANT! You have to have signed the release form and received the bracelet before you can go on the ropes course or slides!! Get these before heading to deck 18 if you plan on doing these at all! Then we headed down the back staircases to deck 15, which is the back of the buffet. We went to grab some coffee and tea to watch sail away.

 

 

 

Then it was time to head back to our room to unpack and get ready for our late seating dinner. We booked an Inside Fantastica cabin. Now, this cabin was actually pretty large just for the two of us, but we appreciated the little bit of extra space. This was the first inside cabin we have ever had together (Shane has been in a few on previous cruises) and we were skeptical of the category. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find we loved it! Dark as dark gets, but still not need for us to have an alarm as we have internal alarms waking us by 7:30am. So, we unpacked and got dressed for dinner. Dinner was a set seating time of 9pm for us. Since we live in Europe right now, 9pm was not that late as we are used to eating later since that is how the Italians we live by happen to eat. This could be too late for families with children or people who are used to more in between times such as 7-8pm eating time. For that purpose, please be diligent and request early dining as most dining times seat between 6:30 and 7:30pm.

 

 

 

Dinner was quite good. We enjoyed a 6 top table to ourselves as no one else was assigned to our table for the duration of our cruise. Unfortunately, we were so focused in food that we did not remember to take pictures of the daily dining menus. Therefore, we cannot remember every dishes exact title. The first nights dinners included for appetizers: Minestrone Soup and Caprese Salad. Main Course was a turkey dish with roasted potatoes and turkey gravy and pasta with seafood red sauce. Desert contained an open face apple fritter of sorts and a double chocolate coffee bar cake slice. So delicious!!

 

 

 

** Also, because we know this is a big deal for some people and there are mixed reviews in regards to this. We were two people sitting by ourselves at dinner. Dinner was served in a complete timely manner. By the time we had finished dinner it laster nearly an hour. That is perfect for us and we even had a little time between each course to let it settle before digging into the next. Now, we noticed that those who were sitting at tables with larger groups would definitely be receiving their dishes much later than us. There were several tables of 6-10 people would be receiving their appetizers as we finish our main dishes. Truly, it depends on how focused you are about receiving your food quickly. Dining in Europe is much more laid back and meant to be an experience and entertaining conversation type of thing. Don't get too put off if your dishes come out a little later. Enjoy your table mates and have fantastic conversation over a glass of wine. It's to die for!! **

 

 

 

Now, we are old souls in younger bodies. After the longer day of travel and getting accustom to the ship and all the excitement, we decided to head off to bed early this first night. Bed time was at 10:30 and we were excited for the next day!

 

 

 

Next day - Civitavecchia!

 

 

 

Until tomorrow! Enjoy Day One in Genova.

 

 

 

Ciao Ciao!!

 

Macon and Shane

 

 

 

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We appreciate your review....four of us from America traveling on the “Wonder” on March 31st. Ps. Please assure us that our 12 Fantastica drink vouchers do not need to be used on water in the dining room. Wanted to use them on alcohol......how much was the beer package? Do you get vouchers or is it unlimited beer?

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Please assure us that our 12 Fantastica drink vouchers do not need to be used on water in the dining room.

Note that the free water and the 12 Fantastica vouchers only are available for US bookings, being "a Kansas girl" alone is not enough if the booking was made in Italy :cool:

Instead of 12 vouchers we Europeans in Fantastica get one free photo from the Italy night *sigh*

We appreciate your review....four of us from America traveling on the “Wonder” on March 31st. Ps. Please assure us that our 12 Fantastica drink vouchers do not need to be used on water in the dining room. Wanted to use them on alcohol......how much was the beer package? Do you get vouchers or is it unlimited beer?

 

 

 

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Gatlinburg,

As Perakcruiser stated, the 12 fantastica vouchers received are applied only o US bookings and are to supplement the water in the free dining room. This is something we learned after the matter as when we booked through MSCcruisesUSA they assured us we had free water in the dining room and the vouchers were extra on top of those. However, when we were on the ship, it was the exact opposite. The vouchers are provided to US guests to supplement paying for water in the dining. Shane is stating, be sure to print everything you receive! Also, be sure that when you go to pre-booking select the Water package option that is listed as $0.00 and add to your cart and "pay". Print that confirmation. That will help with your free water in the dining room. We did get lucky and had awesome wait staff for us in our dining room and never had to pay for water with our dinner and used all our drink vouchers for alcohol on our trip.

The beer package was 59 euros, approximately $65. Book it online as I believe it is a little cheaper than on the ship. The package includes 14 beer vouchers in the pack. We wish it were unlimited! The 14 vouchers though were perfect. It allowed both of us to have Beer 30 every day, one beer each. It is good for all beers including tap, bottle, craft, and so on. The only items it does not include is Beer-tails and other specialty beer drinks.

I hope this helps you figure out everything a little more! Shane is pretty adamant if you see something you would like for the cruise to pre-book online! There were several items we saw on the pre-book site we wanted, but decided to wait until we got on the ship. Boy was that a bad idea! And prices were higher. Tread carefully!

Yours truly,

Macon

Little Britain,

 

This ship would be perfect for her! There are plenty of sit by the side and relax to watch the waves areas. There is also a very small, extremely limited, library on board. It is on deck 7, behind the Champagne Bar with the perfect windows to turn her chair around and watch the waves. In the main atrium, on deck 5, there is generally a pianist who may or may not be accompanied by a vocalist, violinist, guitarist, or bassist. They play lovely music that is great for relaxing. The dailies all have the quieter musical events listed and their locations. It should be a wonderful experience for your mother. :D

 

I hope you both have a fabulous time aboard the Meraviglia. I know there are some negative reviews on her, but we found her to be a great cruise for us. We are simple people and very easy to please and this was perfect. Enjoy your holiday and have a happy new year!

 

-Macon

Macon, thanks for your comments and I have taken the plunge and pressed the Book It Danno button!!!!

I have also booked the drinks package - it was only £140pp ($189) to help me cope with the stress! I think that is cheaper than booking on board.

Annddd were back! We were in the process of catching up, but, the internet had other plans and deleted everything. Which was probably for the better, as I'm sure the thesis statement of a day review would have put most people to sleep, so again I start over with the goal of being more to the point.

Day 3 Palermo

We started our day by seeing the island of Sicily appearing in the distance on the TV. So we decided to get up and head to the deck to watch our arrival. Although it was rather chilly for us, the colder air and the excitement of approaching a new port woke us up better than the dredge they call coffee in the buffet. We loved watching us pull in, and would bounce from port to starboard often to catch the sunrise, the city, and an unexpected Horizon on the horizon!

(/End bad puns about upcoming Carnival cruise ships)

So we decided to head down the buffet along with about 2,000 new best friends. Luckily, we were at the aft part of the buffet so we managed to avoid most of the crowd. We at first sat outside to watch the last of the docking, but as the dredge, I mean coffee, got cold rather quickly, we went back inside. After breakfast, we went down to the Edge bar and got some real coffee while deciding on what to do that day. Shortly after 10, we beat the masses off the ship and walked into the port area.

I (Shane) have been a 9 other cruises down in the Caribbean and have gotten used to the vendors hawking their what have yous the instant you walk into the port area, but the vendors here seemed to be so much more aggressive and refusal to accept "No" as an answer. We pushed past them, and headed to a Hop On Hop Off tour operator. We purchased our tickets and exited the inner port area, firmly pressing our way past more vendors, and met the bus over by the Farmacia. We were the first ones onboard and for awhile had it all to ourselves, but then it filled up. We were handed these old Nokia style phone things that had the narrations for the tour. It was very hard to hear what the narrator was saying, so we gave up and just enjoyed the view.

So instead of hopping on and hopping off, we wound up staying on until the last stop. From here, we walked back along the bus route looking for the christmas market we passed. The christmas market wasnt fully opened, and the stalls that were didn't have any of the souvenirs we were looking for, so we continued to walk around. We came across a local ceramics artist shop, and got a few locally made souvenirs. At this point, nature was calling and since free public bathrooms in Europe tend to be like unicorns, we headed back down to the ship, as we could see it down the main drag. Along the way we passed a couple of generic souvenir stores, picked up a few more things for friends and family, then back to the trek to take care of ever more pressing matters. But of course, we absolutely had to stop for a couple of cannolis because, well, it seemed like such a thing to do.

So back in the port area, we noticed most of the vendors had cleared out, so we made a mental note of when to leave the ship next time. (About 1ish) Going through security wasnt very smooth, as while they had two lines, there was zero signage saying what line to use, and wether both lines were open. So we waited in the less correct line, and I only say that as there was a family who was boarding that day that had some difficulty getting all the luggage through. In the mean time, a security agent directed lots of people into the other, much faster moving line. But we made it through and onto the ship for lunch (after a quick detour).

With it being lunch time and all, that meant a trip to the buffet was in store. With most guests still ashore, the buffet was mostly empty, so getting fresh food and a good seat was very easy. After lunch, we changed into our bathing suits and headed to the cantilevered hot tubs in the bamboo pool area. We sat in these for a little bit, but because the tubs are more jacuzzi over actual hot tub, we went down to our new favorite spot, the Thermal Spa.

So in the Thermal Spa area, they offer these different experience bands to change up your experience in the spa. After the walking around, we decided to try the "Relax" band. On it, are little symbols that you match up to the symbols outside of the different rooms in the spa. I dont remember the order exactly, but I believe it went something like, Shower, Sauna, Ice fall room/Cold Rain, Relax room, Steam/Med Bath, Cold breeze, relax room, Sauna/Steam/Med Bath, cold breeze, and finally a long relax room. The band also had little time suggestions as well. So between following the suggested time line and the falling asleep in the salt room at the end, we wound up being there for about 2-2.5 hours. It was fantastic. Only downside, and noticed this as the week went on, that a few of the chair hogs that didnt go into hibernation found their way into the relaxation rooms. After this, it was definitely Bier:30. So we dropped into our favorite pub, grabbed a pair of delicious brews, and off to somewhere.

Since tonight was formal night we eventually got around to dressing up and then off to walk the ship. As of writing this, its all melted together, but the key events were, Karaoke in the TV lounge, a Dome show, free gala night drinks in the Galleria area, some Roulette, a pre dinner drink using the enomatic machines outside the dining rooms and ended with dinner. All in all a great day.

Think I will wrap it up there before I carry on too much longer, and we will try to be a little faster on finishing this review. Also I know this would be some much better with the pictures in the thread instead of attached elsewhere, so I owe everyone a future edit with attached pictures.

Thanks for staying tuned

-Shane and Macon

Are you allowed to bring a bottle of wine on board at embarkation?

Are you allowed to bring a bottle of wine on board at embarkation?

No.

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Hi, have you seen the Cirque de Soileil shows? Wondered what the difference between them were?

Great review! Keep going!

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Hi, have you seen the Cirque de Soileil shows? Wondered what the difference between them were?

Great review! Keep going!

 

 

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Little Britain,

We did go see a Cirque de Soleil show on our final night! I decided to surprise Shane with the cocktail and show experience for Sonor. Which was absolutely fabulous! We did not have the opportunity to see the other one offered. But we loved Sonor. It was different and completely unexpected! Entirely music based and the evolution of that control over music.

Sorry we've been lacking a bit on getting daily reviews up! Life really got in the way these past few weeks with back to work and training. Thanks for sticking with us!

Macon

Day 4 - Surprise Sea Day!! Originally Malta

This day started off pretty rough. We both woke up early with a little kink in our necks, but that's okay! We were up early enough to head right to the Waves dining room for breakfast. As we sat for breakfast, we watched to Malta coast line come into view. The ride had already been pretty rough that morning and continued to be so as we were sat for breakfast. We enjoyed the company of two lovely couples and discussed our arrival to Malta. We all agreed it seemed a bit choppy, but were still very hopeful we would be able to dock.

Lo' and behold! Right after our conversation, someone comes on over the intercom informing all guests that the seas were too rough and we would not be able to dock in Malta so a sea day was ahead of us. They also informed everyone we would be going to Palma de Mallorca the next day (our original sea day). But no other information was figured out just yet and they would post updates throughout the day.

Breakfast: Was fabulous. Shane had the French toast and said it was quite good, and I decided to make my own omelet. I decided to have it with ham, bacon, and mushrooms. This was absolutely delicious! It quickly became my favorite breakfast to have in the dining room. Service was quick, even with 6 of us at the table and the dining room already getting busy.

After breakfast, we went back up to the room to put on close-toed shoes, swimsuits, and hit up the ropes course. Since we were going to have the time on the ship today, we decided to go ahead and have at it! When we got up to the deck, and were almost blasted away! The wind was pretty crazy, but died down a bit before we got hooked up to the ropes course. There was no line and we got suited up and clipped in in about 10 minutes time. This course was so much fun! Yea, it's not as extensive as NCL has on their ships and Carnival is implementing, but it was so much fun! Once we got to the edges that were on the sides of the ship, the wind really picked up and the course ropes were swaying... with us on them! This added to the thrill for us, but may have freaked a few other people out. We finished the ropes course in about 20 minutes. Right as we exit the course and get out of the gear, it starts to pour down rain and they had to close up shop. This was perfect timing!

Since we were already starting to get wet, Shane figured, might as well hit up the Polar Aqua park and knock out the slides. Now, the day was a balmy 40-ish degrees Fahrenheit and here goes my lovely husband in his swim trunks... just to ride the slides! It may have been quite chilly, but he loved the slides! They were so much fun and we spent time later on the trip going down them quite a bit. :D

Wouldn't you know! Since Shane is already wet from the slides, and I had already prepped, we headed straight down to the Thermal spa!! This was perfect. Once again, and I'm sure some of you are tired of hearing about it, but we loved this place! It was a great place to warm up after being in the chilly air on the upper decks. We were able to hope in the sauna and Med bath. We even decided to take a quick snore in the Salt relaxation room. Spent about an hour or so there before deciding it was time to head back to the room to change and grab some grub.

When we were finished with food, we went on down to deck 6 and grabbed a drink from the Champagne bar. This is where I tried the Rosato Mio and fell in love! This drink was truly fabulous and refreshing. Shane had a Long Island Iced Tea and holy schnikes! That thing was a whole lot of strong. We take our drinks with us and walk towards the Carousel Lounge. Fingers crossed that they didn't have practice for the Cirque du Soleil and SCORE! The lounge was empty. So we perched our butts right in the center back chairs, swiveled around, propped our feet up, and watched the sea go by. This was the perfect spot to sit and watched the trail the Meraviglia left behind on our trek towards Palma de Mallorca.

This day was relaxing and easy for us. Even with it being an impromptu Sea Day, walking around the ship, it NEVER felt like the ship had that many passengers on board! Our cruise wasn't booked completely, but was definitely on the fuller side. This was a blessing for us! There are definitely some places on the ship that were congestion zones; like the coffee bar on deck 5 by the Guest Relations desk, under the "bridge" on deck 6 in the Promenade, and certain lounges like the Meraviglia Bar and Lounge. I want to reiterate though, it was never truly insane! Just a little bit of crowding.

Honestly, that's it for our Impromptu Sea Day! We kept it easy and lazy, just how we like it! We are truly easy people to please and this day was quite fabulous. :hearteyes: Wouldn't change our laziness for anything this day.

I want to apologize for taking so long to complete this review! Life got pretty crazy at the end of December and beginning of January as we started back at work with long days.

Stay tuned! Have a lovely rest of your days/evenings everyone!

Truly,

Macon and Shane