Live from MSC Meraviglia Sailing from Barcelona 7/7/17 with lots of photos!

[LUGI]

Hi Kikki, a quick and important question. How does the water go out the hot tub? We got it in. But now it is stuck in there.

[kikki21]

Here's the Baked Alaska parade!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Nope didn't see it but agree about feeling short changed by the portion!!!!! [emoji15]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

Kikki just interested to know whether you logged a debit or a credit card against your account? I read somewhere on MSC site that they auto bill credit cards but not debit cards.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

That might explain it as it was a debit card!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

Hi Kikki, a quick and important question. How does the water go out the hot tub? We got it in. But now it is stuck in there.

 

 

 

Good question - but we never emptied it ourselves, if we ever left the room for a significant amount of time, it would be emptied!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[LUGI]

That is not good. Our hot tub is very dirty.

[Rossco01]

That might explain it as it was a debit card!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Yes I logged on to my booking and then selected the "During Your Cruise" option. It's covered off under the Useful Information section under On Board Payment

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[8420PR]

Nope didn't see it but agree about feeling short changed by the portion!!!!! [emoji15]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I think the baked alaska they parade around the dining room is plastic!

[kikki21]

That is not good. Our hot tub is very dirty.

 

 

 

Which room have you got Lugi? My fiancé is experienced with hot tubs & he's not convinced they are using cleaning products [emoji853]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CruisingUS]

Which room have you got Lugi? My fiancé is experienced with hot tubs & he's not convinced they are using cleaning products [emoji853]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Eww

[kikki21]

I think the baked alaska they parade around the dining room is plastic!

 

 

 

Lol I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case! [emoji12]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

Eww

 

 

 

Indeed - look under the seat, there should be a basket there with cleaning product in it. If not I would ask the stateroom attendant about it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

I'm about to write a list of things I liked & didn't like with our Meraviglia experience.

And then whether we would cruise MSC again! [emoji15]

 

Things we liked:

 

* Priority embarkation for Aurea guests - it was quick & easy & within 30 mins we were on board - that was a good first impression although not immediately visible when we arrived at the port.

 

* Disembarkation was relatively simple too. Suitcases outside your room by 1am & then colour coded when you got off the ship. Find your case & go!

 

* The LED Dome was truly impressive & a wonderful feature of the ship as well as the Swarovski staircases.

 

* The Spa area was generally well thought out & a very enjoyable experience for Aurea guests - our included massage - we both choose a hot stone massage was also excellent.

We didn't however get a welcome cocktail or get the other included items.We didn't spend as much time in the spa as we would have liked. It was never too crowded.

 

* The shops on board were quite swanky & featured lots of good quality products, a lot better than what I had seen on previous cruise ships although we didn't buy anything other than MSC stuff like fridge magnets.

 

* The buffet consistently produced good food & obviously plenty of it - the bread products, pizza, pastries & especially the desserts were outstanding.

 

* The Sky Lounge was a lovely area - beautifully designed ( reminded me of a bar on Celebrity) & we should have spent more time in there!

 

* The Aurea sundeck was a great place to be away from the crowds in the pool area but was subject to ALL of the noise from the pool area which was kind of a neutral score for that area.

 

* The desserts in the MDR were the stars of the menu & were consistently excellent. Thank god nothing we ordered needed to be hot though! [emoji15]

 

* The ship sailed very smoothly in the main. We were a little concerned about being right at the front of the ship as regards movement but apart from one or two occasions where we felt movement - we were at times seated right over the azipods then we were fine.

 

* The ship generally got into port way earlier than advertised although left 2 hours late in Naples due to a medical evacuation.

 

* The bar staff were generally friendly but the waiting staff seemed to be understaffed so the quickest way to order your drink was directly with the bar staff.

 

That's all the positives I can think of - now for the negatives.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

Things we disliked!

 

* It's going to be no surprise here that the food is going to be top of the dislike list. Apart from our likes as above with the food, the food in the MDR was mediocre. It was never hot, at best Luke warm & just looked thoroughly unappetising as per my earlier comment, just lobbed onto a plate. I know that plenty of people cruise for the lovely cruise food & the experience of dining in the MDR & being looked after but we felt we did not receive this service in the MDR.

Service was sketchy - the first or last night did not give us a great impression.

We waited 20 mins or more for just the bread to arrive ( it only comes once so grab a few rolls) and for drinks. We weren't asked if we wanted more drinks on our last night. Then other nights, drinks service was great. The waiting staff were all working hard but I would say that more of them were needed on busy nights because dinner could take 2 hrs plus on a regular basis.

The portion sizes of the food were often very small. I know you can order more but some waiters seemed surprised that we were ordering more than 1 starter each!

The food was very basic in the extreme, soups came without much attempt at a garnish & food didn't come with any vegetables unless you asked for vegetables on the always available menu.

 

We love Italian food but on some nights, the choice options were extremely limited & then we had the saga of the food coming out without many of the components on it! I've been on several cruises & never ever experienced an MDR like it. I have to say I was very disappointed.

 

* Other dining options were limited - unless you went to the buffet then you had to pay to get different food. For a ship as big as the Meraviglia, I felt that she was extremely limited in her extra dining options. Take a look at NCL Escape - so many dining options onboard. On the Meraviglia not so many & again not that much choice on the menus. although the cost of our cabin was very good, I didn't feel like I should also have to pay extra to receive better food but as has been mentioned on this thread maybe this is what some cruise lines want you to do!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

* Design flaws - the interior of the ship is beautiful & classy but there are some odd design flaws. The LED dome is a great area but all of a sudden you are cramped up by the atrium which is very small through floors 5 to 7 of the ship.

 

The ladies toilet at the buffet was also oddly designed. Massive cubicle spaces & then cramped up washing hand area that was too close to the door. Bizarre.

 

Our cabin interior was quite drab in the dark grey & plum colour - felt it was all bells & no whistles. For what was classed as a suite, I felt our bathroom was small. It would have been nice to have a double sink.

Also our jacuzzi hot tub seemed to have been fitted the wrong way round as the seats were to the back & not facing forward to enjoy the seaviews. Again very odd.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

* Internet - although the internet package worked well - the explanation of how to actually get to use the internet was poorly communicated as in giving the wrong log in address on the cruise card & what to actually log into! No wonder there were massive queues at customer services due to this issue - why not put something in the daily program & on screens to clearly explain it. Easily solvable!

 

* lots of technology & already breaking down after a month of cruising - air con failing in several areas, the ability not to join photographs onto one account, the bar service resorting to paper several times as the computers kept failing. Not good!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

* The ship volume was very, very loud especially in the pool area & at the MDR. I know it's common for Spanish & Italian people to have dinner late & for kids to stay up late but there was no parental control on letting kids run around everywhere & continuous shrieking!

You couldn't escape the noise from the pool deck so I can see the appeal of Yacht Club at the front of the ship - this was a positive for us being so far forward in that it was quiet!

 

* Our stateroom attendant wasn't personable at all. We tried to engage him in conversation several times but he didn't want to speak to us. He would let us into the room if he saw us coming to be fair but glasses & the like would be left in the room for hours even when we left for port visits or ask for the room to be made up - the glasses were definitely empty too. It was definitely sloppy - we probably should have said something but it was a minor irritation.

 

* Entertainment was very much reserved for Spanish/Italian people in terms of the shows. There were loads of dance classes & general entertainment seemed to consist of the CD shouting people to applause all the time! We saw 3 shows - Meraviglioso Amor was poor. Paz was better & the Mr enjoyed La Boheme ( I was packing!)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

* general disorder on excursions - I know the joke is on us Brits to queue but there was no concept of queuing for anything for other nationalities for excursions it was everyone for themselves. And also people trying to queue jump for the Cirque show.

 

* Ship atmosphere - the ship could get very quiet & change atmosphere with 3 home ports but people were getting on & off at every port. We felt MSC might be missing a trick here by not offering another different itinerary so that people could experience a back to back cruise but if they adopted the same concept of people getting on/off at every part then this would be difficult to manage.

 

* Don't expect towel animals or turn down chocolates! - it doesn't bother me but might for some people.

 

* General poor communication - we weren't advised that someone would be cleaning the balconies etc at port - Leigh got notified - we could have been naked in bed when a bloke suddenly turned up on our balcony - we didn't get notified.

Similarly we don't actually know why we got a credit on our account but assumed it was due to the air con issue ( Leigh didn't get a credit!)

Generally things were poorly explained such as the internet issue & then going back to the Panorama restaurant for our last night when it said in print that we would be in the buffet again only to be told that we were ok to eat at Panorama again.

 

* Ship not suitably staffed in MDR & bar areas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CruisingUS]

* The ship volume was very, very loud especially in the pool area & at the MDR. I know it's common for Spanish & Italian people to have dinner late & for kids to stay up late but there was no parental control on letting kids run around everywhere & continuous shrieking!

You couldn't escape the noise from the pool deck so I can see the appeal of Yacht Club at the front of the ship - this was a positive for us being so far forward in that it was quiet!

 

* Our stateroom attendant wasn't personable at all. We tried to engage him in conversation several times but he didn't want to speak to us. He would let us into the room if he saw us coming to be fair but glasses & the like would be left in the room for hours even when we left for port visits or ask for the room to be made up - the glasses were definitely empty too. It was definitely sloppy - we probably should have said something but it was a minor irritation.

 

* Entertainment was very much reserved for Spanish/Italian people in terms of the shows. There were loads of dance classes & general entertainment seemed to consist of the CD shouting people to applause all the time! We saw 3 shows - Meraviglioso Amor was poor. Paz was better & the Mr enjoyed La Boheme ( I was packing!)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I don't understand. Can you expand on this? Are the shows in Italian or spanish?

[kikki21]

I don't understand. Can you expand on this? Are the shows in Italian or spanish?

 

 

 

Of the entertainment we saw it was very much geared up to the Mediterranean market & not people who speak English as their first language which is a bit odd as announcements are made in English first & all the buffet items are labelled in English too.

 

It was very much an international ship. The Mr was told that 1700 people were getting off in Barcelona yesterday & that 1750 were getting on, 500 of whom were from Israel!

We heard people speaking in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish, Russian, some Dutch people, some Americans, people from Australia, a really varied mix.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kikki21]

* We took 2 MSC excursions, they were a fair price but both of them could have given us an extra hour in Portofino especially so we weren't rushed & an extra hour in Taormina. We were back from both excursions hours before the ship sailed so it seemed a bit tight.

 

We thought the shuttle bus was fair in Marseille because the cruise port seemed miles away from the main part of town. Other than that, we docked in all central areas. Our best times we spent off the ship, doing our own thing [emoji4]

It sounds like we didn't enjoy the cruise, we most certainly did but unfortunately we did find a lot to criticise.

MSC have huge expansions plans but I can't see their ships having the impact they want on the US market if this is the product they deliver with Meraviglia.

 

I've not looked at Seaside much but MSC need to improve the cruise experience dramatically as they won't be able to compete with the American owned cruise lines - perhaps the Yacht Club experience does compete but not everyone can sail Yacht Club.

 

Certainly one thing that attracted me to MSC was price - but then if they can't deliver, people will look at paying more elsewhere for a better cruise experience. I work really hard to cruise so of course I want the best cruise experience for my hard earned cash!

 

MSC have continually good offers so maybe I ought to give them another go on a different ship & see how this experience compares - at least I'll be better prepared!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cafedumonde]

* We took 2 MSC excursions, they were a fair price but both of them could have given us an extra hour in Portofino especially so we weren't rushed & an extra hour in Taormina. We were back from both excursions hours before the ship sailed so it seemed a bit tight.

 

We thought the shuttle bus was fair in Marseille because the cruise port seemed miles away from the main part of town. Other than that, we docked in all central areas. Our best times we spent off the ship, doing our own thing [emoji4]

It sounds like we didn't enjoy the cruise, we most certainly did but unfortunately we did find a lot to criticise.

MSC have huge expansions plans but I can't see their ships having the impact they want on the US market if this is the product they deliver with Meraviglia.

 

I've not looked at Seaside much but MSC need to improve the cruise experience dramatically as they won't be able to compete with the American owned cruise lines - perhaps the Yacht Club experience does compete but not everyone can sail Yacht Club.

 

Certainly one thing that attracted me to MSC was price - but then if they can't deliver, people will look at paying more elsewhere for a better cruise experience. I work really hard to cruise so of course I want the best cruise experience for my hard earned cash!

 

MSC have continually good offers so maybe I ought to give them another go on a different ship & see how this experience compares - at least I'll be better prepared!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

So you would go again? Would you do Aurea again? Thanks for the awesome review. We are on Seaside in December and trying to get excited about it!

[Tootsiesmum]

Thanx kikki, I can see where ur coming from, as I said earlier I've never been on msc before, been on 2 American lines which where fantastic, hope they sort the food out and the children running around, ur thread has been great thanx again

[xkritter]

Thank you so much for such a great review. I simply cannot believe those plates were allowed to leave the galley. I think we are going to move forward with doing our Iceland cruise on NCL and wait and book a shorter cruise - probably from the states - for our first MSC cruise.

[ykennedy35]

My main came out with a component AGAIN!!!! I couldn't be bothered with complaining because it would just delay the dinner & in any case - this is a gala dinner dish. Mmmmmm!

We both decided it's the buffet from now on!

The Mr had the fish & said it just tasted average.

 

 

 

 

There is no finesse in the MDR, I just feel it is lobbed on a plate & that's it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Wow, this is so disappointing the food looks awful. I really wouldn't even want to taste it. When we sail on Belissima my husband will be thrilled as it will be the buffet every night unless things improve! I know that not for quite some time but I am not sure MSC can get the MDR right with what I read and see on CC.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[kerryincork]

Thanks Kiki. I'm in the same cabin as you but on opposite side & down a deck. I think you thread has really helped real in my expectations and I will probably have a better cruise for it.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Forums mobile app