Meraviglia Western Med Review - Dec. 17-24

[gatlinburg]

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

 

 

 

What was the thermal spa like? Was thinking of adding that package for our upcoming Spring cruise.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[stp_mmh5]

What was the thermal spa like? Was thinking of adding that package for our upcoming Spring cruise.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Gatlinburg,

 

The spa was fabulous!! We spent every day of our cruise in the Thermal Spa at some point in the day. The spa includes quite the variety of relaxation areas. These include: relaxation rooms (there are 4 in total), 2 saunas to include a traditional sauna and a light sauna, 2 steam rooms to include one light sensory and one dark sensory, 2 Mediterranean baths that we can characterize them as lighter saunas with one light and one dark, an ice room, several cool showers that range from Cool mist, cool breeze, cool rain, a shower experience with ether a warm or cool way, and 2 hot tubs.

 

Truly, it was completely worth the extra cost and we would buy it again in a heartbeat on MSC. They provide different types of bands as well depending on what you are wanting to accomplish from your time in the spa. These bands are Relax, Excite, Tonic, and ...we can't remember what the fourth one was. These were great for giving a system of the different rooms to use in an order and a time length for each section.

 

I hope this helps you make your decision! Also, if your cruise still has anything Spa related available to book prior to the cruise, book through the online booking! This will save you money as the deals online go away once you board the ship.

 

Have a lovely day!!

 

Macon

[gatorfamily]

Thanks so much for your review. I have really enjoyed reading it. It was not only informative but refreshing and positive. We love cruising and like you both just go with the flow enjoying every bit of the cruise. I do have a question regarding getting off the ship. We get on and off in Rome. It states that we are there at 8:00. Does that mean it docks at 8:00 and has to be cleared or we can get off the ship at 8:00? We are thinking of getting the 9:15 nonstop train back into Rome. Just wondering how busy it is getting off the ship and if we would make that train if we carry off our luggage. The next nonstop is at 11:45 which seems too late. We leave next week. Thanks in advance.

[stp_mmh5]

Gatorfamily,

 

As far as getting off in Civitavecchia, I honestly can not remember exactly when passengers started to disembark. I do remember that we were arriving into port around 630 and were tied up to the dock at 7/730ish. But I did take a picture which was from the tv screens across the ship showing the anticipated departure times based on the given luggage tags. The terminal also looked rather small, so clearing through it should not take very long, especially since you don't have to clear customs as one would from a states based cruise. All that said, I would believe that getting off the ship and onto a bus or taxi to the train station for a 9:15 departure should be do-able.

 

I apologize for not having the photo readily available on here as I am having a heck of time getting photos to attach, so the link below will take you to the photo direct from the big album Macon made.

 

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN8mwRhjIUrwFpz_8y3P3vb0c31bPF4xpW0Exb6OMqi25SumnL12oz974aVecw84w/photo/AF1QipNdceSM37UGGFmyFkcItA7TOlkRLPvaS3k6ji4_?key=amNRSlNuYmxpeG5KbXJFbkRtemFFR1lUSjNlcmpB

 

 

Hope this helps,

 

- Shane and Macon

[gatorfamily]

Macon and Shane,

Thank you so much for your helpful information and loved seeing all your photos. We were thinking of doing self assist if they offer it. Do you remember by chance if they offered it and if so when were they able to get off the ship? We have decided to do the Thermal Spa. Sounds like it was wonderful. Do you know what time it closes at night? Was it busy?Thanks again for your post and for you responding to our questions.

Gatorfamily

[stp_mmh5]

Macon and Shane,

Thank you so much for your helpful information and loved seeing all your photos. We were thinking of doing self assist if they offer it. Do you remember by chance if they offered it and if so when were they able to get off the ship? We have decided to do the Thermal Spa. Sounds like it was wonderful. Do you know what time it closes at night? Was it busy?Thanks again for your post and for you responding to our questions.

Gatorfamily

 

Gatorfamily,

 

We are happy to help as much as possible! As for self assist in disembarking the ship, we do not have exact information. We do know that they stated you didn't have to leave your luggage out the night before if you were planning to disembark with all your belongings. They did not state any information beyond this to our knowledge. However, we didn't have a problem disembarking the ship well before our time frame and had a quick walk off. That was in Genoa, so I would presume it would be a quicker exit at Rome since it is not as popular a embarkation/disembarkation port.

 

The Thermal Spa you will not regret!! It was open from 0900-2100 (9am to 9pm)! This gave plenty of time to relax as you please. The only time we thought the spa felt rather busy was on our surprise sea day. Even then, we never felt it was so overcrowded we thought we needed to leave. There weren't any seats available in the lounges, but still plenty of room in all the other rooms available. Even our favorite room, the Mediterranean Bath, was empty during the busy time!

 

Have a lovely day!!

 

Macon and Shane

[gatorfamily]

Macon and Shane,

Great information. We really appreciate it. Sounds definitely possible to get off the ship early and the Thermal Spa is a must. Have a great day!

Gatorfamily

[stp_mmh5]

Day 5 Part 1

 

 

Sea morning and Palma de Mallorca!

 

This first half will likely be a long read, and since I seem to be Cruise Critic photo posting impaired, there will be a lot of text, but I will try to be descriptive as possible.

 

So sometime on our embarkation day, we wandered past the Excursions desk in the Galleria and decided on a whim to see if MSC offered a behind the scenes tour, as we could not recall from past reviews if one was offered. As it turned out in our favor, they do! So we booked our tickets, and received our instructions to meet on the sea day at the theater. When Malta was skipped due to weather, we hoped that our tour would still be a go, and they determined that because of the late arrival, we would still be able to complete the tour. So return to the present, we decide to set alarms in the morning just to make sure we don't over sleep. We also thought ahead, and figured we should try out room service, because should we sleep through an alarm, they would wake us up. So on the morning of, our alarms go off as scheduled, we are up and motivated, and now we wait for a light breakfast to get us through the morning. And we wait, and wait, and finally we have to go. Our requested time was the earliest available, around 730. Macon left the room closer to 8, and I left the room at just after 8, and still nothing. Luckily, the Edge Bar on deck 6 has little pastries and danishes available in morning, so we got a couple of sweet snacks to enjoy with our coffees, then off to the Theater for our tour.

 

The Tour!

 

Once everyone had arrived they split us into two groups, based on what our primary language was. As there were about 5 English speakers, we were grouped with 10-15 German guests, as our guide was quite fluent in both. There was another group of equal size that was split Italian and French. At first they pulled us all up onto the stage and gave the groups a quick brief on the stage, the shows, and the how they get the dancers. Then they gave us a quick sample of the light and music effects, as seen as from the dancers perspective. Then we got to go backstage, trying to move past the LED screens that were rocking and rolling with the ship (Forgot to mention, the seas were not smooth at all. But the ship was handling them rather well) Behind the stage, we entered the dressing room, where our guide went over how the dancers maintained their area and the costumes. Then they took us into a back (well, super forward in relation to the ship) to see another storage area. The room was clearly against the hull of the ship, as the far wall was curved inwards, semi-insulated, and one could hear and feel everytime a large wave crashed up against us. After talking about how the size of Meraviglia allowed for a little extra storage space and what not.

 

From there we back tracked a little and headed up nice steep crew stair well to deck 6. On this deck, we walked past the carpentry shop, where I saw the missing handrails from the Horizon pool area (I don't believe we mentioned that before, but yes, they were removed and replaced with rope. I had never seen, or more likely noticed something like that before, but I digress) We then walked past some of the crew cabins that are situated behind the theater on the deck plans, and walked into something that our guide said was quite new for MSC, a digital education area. The concept of the room was that crew members would have access to computers so that they could continue their education plans, or learn new languages, or play solitaire, as the one crew memeber in there was. Seemed like the concept was much in it's infancy, as while the room had space for quite a few more computers, only two had been setup. Plus our guide said that much of the crew had yet to really utilize it, as they were still developing the concept. I personally liked the area, as it was quite and had great seaviews. Next door the computer lab, was the crew training room, which our guide normally would include to show some of the digital training aids, but couldn't as it was in use training a new batch of crew members. He did use the oppourtunity to quickly go over the training, and the biggest take away for me was that every crew member goes through this two week training regardless of how many contracts they have had, even if it is on the same ship. Afterwards, we moved back down a crew hallway, and exited back into the theater, where we discussed the A/V control booths. A quick rundown of the ins and outs, couple of photo ops, and then we switched guides before heading upwards to Yacht Club.

 

We walked back into the super secret crew hallway, and took the less polished crew elevator up to deck 16. I may be a bit crazy, but I'd rather take a crew elevator over a passenger one because it doesnt stop on every other floor and only seems to be crowded when theres a bunch of passengers on it. Any ways, we reach 16, unload, and pile into the conceirge area of the Yacht Club. While receiving the upsell about Yacht Club all huddled around the crystal staircases, the elite start to come out to oogle at us steerage class types. Pretty sure I heard one couple walk by say something along the lines of "Oh Darling, look at those poor souls, longing for something better" "Well they need to go back to steerage and row this ship out of this weather. Otherwise I'll demand my service charge be removed!" Okay, they may not have definetly said anything like that, but some people seemed slightly annoyed a group of people were blocking the central stairs and elevator, but I certainly hope they got over that. We then were allowed to glimpse at the Top Sail Lounge, and then back to the shadows for us.

 

So we all pile back into a crew elevator, trapping one poor crew member in with us, and ride all the way down to deck 3. When we get off, we head right into the laundry area. Here we get told about the whole process from start to finish. Pretty much laundry on a ship is like laundry at home, it is just super sized and still can never seem to be finished. But they go into depth about the order in which each shift does all the different types, how fast it gets done, etc etc. We then left the main laundry room, headed down to deck 2, and saw the self serve crew laundry room. On Meraviglia, the crew gets 10 washers and 10 dryers that are free to use, as well as a couple of sinks and ironing boards with irons to use. It is probably worth to mention as our guide did, that we are now below the water line, which was noticeable as the thunderous crashing of waves was very dull and the ship seemed a lot more stable. Upon leaving the crew laundry, we walked into a room underneath the main laundry, and this room was the ironing and folding room. They had two or three machines that could do both in just a couple of minutes, and was fun to watch. The crew down here seemed to have a good time with what im sure is a rather dull job. Before heading back up to deck 4, we got a quick rundown on the big yellow and black door, which was a watertight door.

 

Up on deck 4, we took the port side crew highway (They didn't seem to have a nickname for it, such as I-95, just the highway). Before entering this area, we were informed that no photos or videos were allowed in this area, so off went the GoPro. Here we passed, but didn't get an opportunity to check out things like the crew store (which was having a pre christmas sale when we were in Barcelona), crew mess, and a few other things. We then ended up at the stern of the ship, where we donned our food prep visitor suits, which prompted a few "Doctor", "Doctor" jokes. The two groups then split up again, and our group headed towards dry goods. Biggest take away for me here was that by the time we reach Genoa again, that room would be just about empty. We then back tracked, went down a flight, and entered some of the cold storage rooms, such as fruits/veggies, beer and white wine, finally into the meat freezer. This room was living up to it's name, as it was a freezing -25*C. We then head up into the much warmer lower level galley. On this level, there was the dishwashing station, part of the buffet prep stations, and most importantly (arguably) the bakery. On the otherside where we caught up to the big group, which was surrounding the second (arguable) most important side, the dessert prep station. Here they had a fancy chocolate cutting machine that used high pressure air, where they made us seahorses. They also were in the middle of making the baked Alaskas for dinner that night. After this, we headed up the escalator and into the main dining room.

 

After dropping our doctor suits, we then parade over to the Eataly marketplace. Because there was the Voyagers club party going in the Meravglia lounge and Galleria, we took a detour up a floor, and past the Kaito kitchen prep area, down a crew stair, and through the galley of Eataly into the marketplace. We received a quick history of the Eataly brand and then a demonstration of them making a meal that we sampled. And i definetly mean sampled, as it was barely 4 or 5 pieces of the pasta and a hint of sauce. Just enough to excite the taste buds. I will admit, this sample of Eataly was much better than the time we visited the one in Trieste. We also got a bottle of water for each guest, which after 3 hours of walking, it was greatly appreciated. Finally before sending us off, they gave each guest a MSC branded apron. Then that was it, which after all the walking, lack of a solid breakfast and a sample of food reminded us that we are super hungry. Off to the buffet! and that will mean a good start to part two, which is on our adventure in Palma!

 

For those who want the short brief, here it is

1. Room service never serviced

2. Behind the scenes tour starts in theater and sees a lot of the back rooms

3. Get to visit Yacht Club

4. Drop down to the laundry rooms

5. Visit food storage and prep area

6. Finish off with a sample of Eataly and get a free apron

 

Thanks for hanging in there!

 

-Shane and Macon

[MissyMoo68]

Hi, Shane & Macon. I've just discovered your review and am loving it! Don't worry about being too in-depth, the more info the better!

 

We are boarding the Meraviglia on 18th April and, largely, looking forward to it, but the negative reviews are still niggling me. So it's welcome to hear your positive point of view.

 

Can I ask how much the behind the scenes tour was? We're definitely going to sign up for the Thermal Spa pass on your recommendation. We've only been on NCL Epic before and love their spa. But Aurea Spa is a definite bargain in comparison.

 

Thanks!

 

Teresa

[stp_mmh5]

Hi, Shane & Macon. I've just discovered your review and am loving it! Don't worry about being too in-depth, the more info the better!

 

We are boarding the Meraviglia on 18th April and, largely, looking forward to it, but the negative reviews are still niggling me. So it's welcome to hear your positive point of view.

 

Can I ask how much the behind the scenes tour was? We're definitely going to sign up for the Thermal Spa pass on your recommendation. We've only been on NCL Epic before and love their spa. But Aurea Spa is a definite bargain in comparison.

 

Thanks!

 

Teresa

 

Teresa,

 

So happy to hear you are enjoying our review!! We try to be as entertaining as possible. :D As for the negative reviews still niggling at you, pay it no mind. As we've said before, we are simple and easy people to please so we didn't have any problems. Honestly, as long as you keep an open mind you'll be golden!!

 

The Behind the Scenes tour was 49.95 euro. It was definitely as fabulous experience and allowed Shane to get his geek on as he has always wanted to have the opportunity. We have not been on a larger NCL ship other than the Dawn, so we don't know what the comparing experience would be between their spa and Meraviglia's, but it was seriously the best purchase for us this entire cruise. Come and go as you please and they are always smiling!

 

We hope you enjoy your cruise and find it as exciting as ours was!! Happy cruising!!

 

Macon and Shane

[MissyMoo68]

Well, I've booked the spa! On another thread, someone called kwokpot posted the following:

 

 

*If you want to book the Thermal Suite Spa pass for the entire cruise, BOOK BEFORE YOU GET ON THE SHIP AT HOME and look for SPA 1512 package. That is a 30 minute

Bali

Massage(Back,shoulders,legs) PLUS the Spa access for the week for only $99! That's only $5 more than just ordering the spa access package pre-cruise! On the ship they run specials for the 30 min. massage at 59 Euros! Spa access is 120 Euros for the week on the ship PLUS a 15% service fee!

[sorry, don't know how to link to it so apologies if copying and pasting isn't allowed]

 

I had a look for this package on MSC's UK but couldn't find it. However, 'Relaxing Touch' seems to be it's equivalent and, blow me down, it's £6 CHEAPER than the spa pass on it's own! I've booked it tout suite :cool:

 

p.s. there was also a Total Body Wax offered for £24. :eek: Surely some mistake...

[stp_mmh5]

Well, I've booked the spa! On another thread, someone called kwokpot posted the following:

 

 

*If you want to book the Thermal Suite Spa pass for the entire cruise, BOOK BEFORE YOU GET ON THE SHIP AT HOME and look for SPA 1512 package. That is a 30 minute

Bali

Massage(Back,shoulders,legs) PLUS the Spa access for the week for only $99! That's only $5 more than just ordering the spa access package pre-cruise! On the ship they run specials for the 30 min. massage at 59 Euros! Spa access is 120 Euros for the week on the ship PLUS a 15% service fee!

[sorry, don't know how to link to it so apologies if copying and pasting isn't allowed]

 

I had a look for this package on MSC's UK but couldn't find it. However, 'Relaxing Touch' seems to be it's equivalent and, blow me down, it's £6 CHEAPER than the spa pass on it's own! I've booked it tout suite :cool:

 

p.s. there was also a Total Body Wax offered for £24. :eek: Surely some mistake...

 

Teresa,

 

 

Definitely no mistake with the total body wax being that price!! I wanted to book this for our cruise, but figured we could book it on the ship for near the same price. HA!!! The package wasn't even available on board!! You had to piece it all together, for well over that price! Book it, and book it now! And good for booking the thermal spa week pass and massage! We also should have booked the massage-spa package before our cruise just for the massage added to it. That is definitely a tidbit of advice we would offer anyone, book all spa items online prior to the cruise! Best of luck!!

 

 

Macon

[SquishTheWhale]

Thank you for your review, I'm on her in April so eagerly following along! I'm going to head over to the website (ugh, the dreaded MSC website) now and check out the spa packages. It's not something I'd want to pay a fortune for as I can relax in hot tubs at the gym at home but if it's cheap then I'm game. We were on the NCL Epic in the Med a couple of years ago and regretted not purchasing the spa package as the weather drove us indoors most days!

 

She looks like a stunning ship but I've heard mixed reviews so we are going in with open minds. The pricing was so cheap that honestly I can't think we'd have much to complain about.

 

A question for your wonderful local Italian knowledge- we disembark in Genoa and are spending a night there so we can visit the aquarium and other local sites. The next day we have an afternoon flight home from Milan so are planning on taking the train over in the morning, storing our bags at Milan Central station and spending a couple of hours in Milan, before catching the train to the airport. The flights were a lot cheaper from Milan than Genoa and also we get to explore a little more. Does that sound feasible to you? And should we book train tickets in advance or just buy them on the day?

 

Also, food porn pictures will be highly appreciated :D

[perakcruiser]

And should we book train tickets in advance or just buy them on the day?

In Europe the train tickets get MUCH MORE expensive if you book late and SUPER expensive if you book on the day. Not a big drama from Genoa to Milan but if you book early you can grab the supersaver for 9 Euro. We also always fly from Milan and the train station in Genoa is so close to the ship, just perfect.

[SquishTheWhale]

In Europe the train tickets get MUCH MORE expensive if you book late and SUPER expensive if you book on the day. Not a big drama from Genoa to Milan but if you book early you can grab the supersaver for 9 Euro. We also always fly from Milan and the train station in Genoa is so close to the ship, just perfect.

 

Thanks- the train pricing is the same in the UK, but I wasn't sure what Italy was like! I will book in advance.

[kathleen21]

Does a “thermal area cruise pass” allow you in the hot tubs and whole spa area? Or is the thermal area something separate? That pass for our 11 night cruise is only $65...

Edited January 16, 2018 by kathleen21
spelling

[stp_mmh5]

Thank you for your review, I'm on her in April so eagerly following along! I'm going to head over to the website (ugh, the dreaded MSC website) now and check out the spa packages. It's not something I'd want to pay a fortune for as I can relax in hot tubs at the gym at home but if it's cheap then I'm game. We were on the NCL Epic in the Med a couple of years ago and regretted not purchasing the spa package as the weather drove us indoors most days!

 

She looks like a stunning ship but I've heard mixed reviews so we are going in with open minds. The pricing was so cheap that honestly I can't think we'd have much to complain about.

 

A question for your wonderful local Italian knowledge- we disembark in Genoa and are spending a night there so we can visit the aquarium and other local sites. The next day we have an afternoon flight home from Milan so are planning on taking the train over in the morning, storing our bags at Milan Central station and spending a couple of hours in Milan, before catching the train to the airport. The flights were a lot cheaper from Milan than Genoa and also we get to explore a little more. Does that sound feasible to you? And should we book train tickets in advance or just buy them on the day?

 

Also, food porn pictures will be highly appreciated :D

 

Squish the Whale,

 

Definitely check out the Spa packages. I completely understand the reservation against spending a bit of money on their packages, but the Thermal Spa pass was definitely worth it with two hot tubs and many other rooms to check out too!

 

As for the train tickets from Genoa to Milan, prices don't really change all that much for regional trains. The price for the tickets will be the same price as when you purchase at the train station the day of. If you prefer to know that you have those tickets in hand, ready to go, go ahead and purchase them! But don't worry too much about purchasing the day of return. Honestly, it's all how in control you prefer to feel. Before moving here, I was a nut case about having things planned out and ready to go in hand. Now that we have been here for a year, we've realized many things in the line of trains across the country don't really change all that much.

 

I hope this helps you out!! Enjoy the Meraviglia! She really is stunning and fabulous if you're easy going like we are.

 

Macon

[stp_mmh5]

Does a “thermal area cruise pass” allow you in the hot tubs and whole spa area? Or is the thermal area something separate? That pass for our 11 night cruise is only $65...

 

Hello Kathleen,

 

The "thermal area cruise pass" is the whole spa thermal area experience. It includes 2 types of saunas, two steam rooms, two Mediterranean baths, 4 relaxation room with one having a hot tub and loungers in it, cool showers, and ice fall room, and another hot tub. Always! Always, check the description of the product on the MSC website before purchase to double check it is what you are expecting and wanting to purchase.

 

For $65, TAKE IT!!! It was definitely a fabulous experience and we highly recommend it to everyone! The perfect way to relax away from everyone else hogging the other available hot tubs. Enjoy!!

 

Macon

[SquishTheWhale]

Squish the Whale,

 

Definitely check out the Spa packages. I completely understand the reservation against spending a bit of money on their packages, but the Thermal Spa pass was definitely worth it with two hot tubs and many other rooms to check out too!

 

As for the train tickets from Genoa to Milan, prices don't really change all that much for regional trains. The price for the tickets will be the same price as when you purchase at the train station the day of. If you prefer to know that you have those tickets in hand, ready to go, go ahead and purchase them! But don't worry too much about purchasing the day of return. Honestly, it's all how in control you prefer to feel. Before moving here, I was a nut case about having things planned out and ready to go in hand. Now that we have been here for a year, we've realized many things in the line of trains across the country don't really change all that much.

 

I hope this helps you out!! Enjoy the Meraviglia! She really is stunning and fabulous if you're easy going like we are.

 

Macon

 

Thank you very much for the useful information! I have looked and the spa packages are a little more than I'd want to spend right now but I will keep checking in case they fluctuate. Our plan and timings are fairly set so I think I'll go ahead and purchase the train tickets in advance. We have never been to Italy (most of Europe but missed Italy somehow!) so we are looking forward to seeing even just a little of it!

[stp_mmh5]

We know it's been a while! Sorry. Life continues to throw problems our way. We are trying to get this finished for all of you!

 

Day 5 part 2 - Palma de Mallorca

 

Since Shane wrote an awesome review over the first part of our Day 5, I'm here to entertain you with the rest of our day as we docked in Palma de Mallorca!

 

We docked right around 1pm and as we were docking, we got to see one of the largest personal yachts in the world! Shane was drooling right out the side of his mouth. So.. you know, needless to say, he is quite jealous and already planning the millions of dollars we will never have on buying a yacht just like that. :D

 

As we are pulling into Palma we have great sunlight since it's the middle of the day to see the gorgeous Cathedral of Santa Maria, also known as La Seu. This cathedral is gorgeous and massive!!! There are some great pictures of it as we are pulling in and of us walking around the gardens on our picture site!

 

Once we are docked up we are ready to hope on off the ship and walk down the pier. It wasn't a terrible experience, a little crowed, but what do you expect when everyone has been on the ship for the past day and a half and can't wait to get on land again?! So, we are off the ship at this point and walking down the massive pier, a good distance of a half mile or more... Honestly, I'm terrible at distances, but it was a long walk.

 

We decided to keep this day rather simple, since it was unplanned to begin. Palma is a place we have always wanted to go and we got our chance! Exiting the port we take a hop and a skip on over to the Hop-On Hop-Off bus line. It was a bit pricey, but we didn't want to walk the couple of miles/kilometers to the cathedral. It is a do-able walk, but not one we were up to. The bus was around 36 euro for the both of us. It had a great route and allowed us to stop over at the cathedral!

 

The stop we hopped on the bus at the port was 14, and the stop we hopped off on was stop number 1. This stop dropped us off right at the western end of the cathedral, with a great walkway to the front lake. We spent the moments enjoying the fabulous architecture and warm sun. Many pictures are in our picture portfolio that I will post again with this post for you to go through!

 

We continued to walk all over the grounds for the cathedral and past the cathedral we found a section of the old fortress that we could walk up and explore. It was truly fascinating. Then as we wandered through all the back cobblestone roads, which were absolutely gorgeous and empty, we got lost and wandered into some fabulous shops that were out of the way. I found a fabulous Gato shop that was perfect to pick up some cat souvenirs for my stepmom who loves all things cats! And so we continued too walk around, stopped in a few more souvenir shops to pick up coffee cups for his parents and all that.

 

Once we were done wandering we hopped back on the hop on hop off bus and finished the route! It was absolutely perfect and relaxing. This day was one of our favorites! OH, who are we kidding?! We love cruising and we loved the entire itinerary!! :hearteyes:

 

This entire day takes up a good chunk of our time while in port so we headed right back for the port. Grabbed a beer in the duty free shop for an early shared Beer 30.

 

Now, the getting back on the ship part was crazy! This was truly one of the only times we felt as if the ship were stupid full. There were many Asian nationality tours that were onboard during our cruise. We were in line that was quite lengthy, but moving steadily. This was up until we were about to go onto the gangway to reboard and a tour bus lets off one of the tour groups causing them to all swarm the gangway, completely bypassing the extensive line because they wanted to get on the ship as quickly as possible. This was horrible! They were pushing and shoving and said quite a few nasty words in whatever language there were speaking because Shane and I and the German couple we were standing behind were trying to keep some semblance of personal space while all they cared about was pushing and shoving and cutting the ridiculous line. It was awful and atrocious a really pissed the both of us off that they were so completely inconsiderate of everyone else in line.

 

Not to worry though! We got back on board and went straight to the Brass Anchor Pub for our real Beer 30 time and to relax after that atrocity. :)

 

This is the only day we did not have time to make it to the Thermal spa, but the day we had in Palma was absolutely worth it!! Enjoy!

 

-Macon

[stp_mmh5]

Here's the link to our cruise picture drive!! Feel free to peruse them again! :)

 

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN8mwRhjIUrwFpz_8y3P3vb0c31bPF4xpW0Exb6OMqi25SumnL12oz974aVecw84w?key=amNRSlNuYmxpeG5KbXJFbkRtemFFR1lUSjNlcmpB

[stp_mmh5]

Apologies for the long delay again, we keep getting distracted but absolutely promise to finish this sometime soon. Shouldn't be too hard considering there are only two more days left. Shouldn't being the keyword. But at this point, the little details are starting to become fuzzy, so the last couple of posts probably wont go into as much depth and detail as some previous ones. Which for those who like more simplified reviews, that'll be a sigh of relief, and to those who enjoy our wall of texts, it'll just be a shorter wall. Anyways, onwards to...

 

Day 6 Barcelona

 

Whats this, they finally figured out pictures?

 

So as with much of this cruise, we had no plans for our day in Barcelona. We also knew that Barcelona is on the map for a future land vacation in conjunction with Tarrogona and PortAventura theme park. But we knew at least we would get off and do a little exploring because why not. We got up pretty lesiurely, and either went up to deck to watch us dock or went to Edge bar for coffee or both, in whatever order the imagination takes you in. We then went to the dining room for breakfast. Had our usual fares, Omlette and a side of bacon for Macon and French toast with hash browns and bacon for Shane. Afterwards we gathered up our GoPro and phones and set off for the gangway. Once in the terminal, we located the port shuttle bus, paid 4 euros for a round trip ticket, and headed off into town.

 

Once off the bus we just walked around the area closest to the water by the Cristo Colombo statue, then across to the Barcelona Maritime museum, as they had a Game of Thrones exhibition set-up there. Being fans of the show, we decided to check it out. It was a fun exhibit, some fun interactive features, and lots of props from the show.

 

Cristo Colombo Statue

 

Entrada

 

Beyond the wall, spoilers lie aplenty

 

After the exhibit, we walked a roundabout way to Las Ramblas, and proceded to take the metro system to Sagradia Familia. We were super impressed with it the instant we saw rising on the escaltor out of the subway. So then we took pictures of it like the tourists we are, did a little souvenier shopping from some of the vendors posted up out front. I (Shane) kinda wanted to go see the inside, but the hordes of tourists moving around it persuaded me otherwise. At this point, we walked around a couple of blocks, with the intention of going back to Ramblas, but ended up coming full circle in search of a public restroom.

 

Sagrada Familia generic touristy shot. Did I take this or "borrow" it from the internet. You decide.

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited February 5, 2018 by stp_mmh5

[stp_mmh5]

At the pitstop at McDonalds, I had decided I'd like to go to the Barcelona Harley shop to pick up a gift or two, so off we went on the next whimsical adventure. Did a little window shopping at the christmas markets set up in front of the Sagrada Familia, and then caught a bus that went towards our next destination. Heading up the street, we went into a Harley Davidson shop, but turns out thats just the repair and modification shop, the one we wanted was further up the street. Oops. Making it to the proper one, we did our gift shopping and then decided it was well past time to eat.

 

 

Macon was really wanting Paella as she had never had it before, so we planned on walking down Las Ramblas, grabbing some Paella and then we'll head back to the ship. We found a nice little Tapas place, Tapas 125, that had exactly what we were looking for, and conveniently enough, was pretty close to the metro station we got off at. We ordered the Combo paella, which had seafood and chicken as well as a platter Jamon Iberia, and since it was beer:15, an Estrella. The paella was absolutely amazing, and set the bar high for what to expect for paella. The Jamon Iberia plate was a great snack, much like the Parma Crudo (Prosciutto) we get locally is. And the beer was refreshing.

 

 

 

Lunch Time

 

 

 

Our combo Paella. While it may look smaller, it was the perfect amount to share between the two of us.

 

 

 

And a plate of Jamon Iberia.

 

A refreshing Cervaza

 

After the late lunch, we walked down Las Ramblas, wandered into the St Josep Boqueria, grabbed a fresh juice, and found our way into a little wine store. Based on our success of brining a bottle of wine onbard with us the day prior at Palma, we figured we try our luck again with a Catalonian wine. Then it was off for our return to the ship.

 

 

Once onboard, we dropped off all our bags and goods from our much longer than expected day, wine included. Our tired feet were begging for a trip to the spa, which we happily obliged. After the spa we then headed up to the aft seating area and took in the sights of Barcelona. I was also swooning over the huge yacht in the harbor, and trying to scale my dreams to the smaller ones.

 

 

 

A man can dream right? Thats the Dilbar yacht, the 4th longest in the world. Talk about Yacht Club life...

 

 

 

If the Dilbar is a YC3, I'll gladly take one these YINs. I'm easy to please.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my ASUS Chromebook C202SA using Tapatalk

Edited February 5, 2018 by stp_mmh5

[stp_mmh5]

Right before sailaway we headed to the Brass Anchor pub for some beers, and then walked out to the Carousel Lanai, squeezed past noone to get a good seat and enjoyed our beers and the cool evening. We also heard the band doing the Beatles/Jazz concerts practicing. After we sailed past the AIDAperla, we walked into the Carousel Lounge and watched the wake and Barcelona slip off into the distance while listening to the band practice. We killed some time bar where we finally got a chance to try a drink at the Skyview Lounge. Of note, none of the fancy drinks in this bar are included with the drink tickets, but we had Blue something or another with these weird flavor beads in it. It was different, good, but different. Plus it came with a small snack plate. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Tonight we had received some table mates after having the table all to our lonesome thus far. We striked up a great conversation about cruising, South Africa, where they were from, and how the daughter of one our table mates was a dancer onboard.

 

 

 

Blue something or another. Probably not what it was actually called but I prefer it my way.

 

 

AIDAperla is keeping an eye on us. Or the party people on her. Who knows, but it looked the Germans knew how to put on a party.

 

 

We left dinner a little early, but that was so we could guarantee we got good seats for the Beatles tribute band. They put on a good show that we enjoyed. Afterwards we explored towards the front of the show where the Flower Party was going on. After a little people watching, the day had caught up to us and it was definitely bed time.

 

Beatles tribute Band

 

 

 

Groovy Baby

 

 

So that wraps up Day 6, as always if you have any questions we will be happy to answer them.

 

 

Shane and Macon

 

 

 

 

Sent from my ASUS Chromebook C202SA using Tapatalk

Edited February 5, 2018 by stp_mmh5

[MissyMoo68]

Right before sailaway we headed to the Brass Anchor pub for some beers, and then walked out to the Carousel Lanai, squeezed past noone to get a good seat and enjoyed our beers and the cool evening. We also heard the band doing the Beatles/Jazz concerts practicing. After we sailed past the AIDAperla, we walked into the Carousel Lounge and watched the wake and Barcelona slip off into the distance while listening to the band practice. We killed some time bar where we finally got a chance to try a drink at the Skyview Lounge. Of note, none of the fancy drinks in this bar are included with the drink tickets, but we had Blue something or another with these weird flavor beads in it. It was different, good, but different. Plus it came with a small snack plate. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Tonight we had received some table mates after having the table all to our lonesome thus far. We striked up a great conversation about cruising, South Africa, where they were from, and how the daughter of one our table mates was a dancer onboard.

 

 

 

Blue something or another. Probably not what it was actually called but I prefer it my way.

 

 

AIDAperla is keeping an eye on us. Or the party people on her. Who knows, but it looked the Germans knew how to put on a party.

 

 

We left dinner a little early, but that was so we could guarantee we got good seats for the Beatles tribute band. They put on a good show that we enjoyed. Afterwards we explored towards the front of the show where the Flower Party was going on. After a little people watching, the day had caught up to us and it was definitely bed time.

 

Beatles tribute Band

 

 

 

Groovy Baby

 

 

So that wraps up Day 6, as always if you have any questions we will be happy to answer them.

 

 

Shane and Macon

 

 

 

 

Sent from my ASUS Chromebook C202SA using Tapatalk

Hey, good to hear from you guys. Thought you had forgotten us! Really appreciate your blogs. Where were the Beatles tribute act? We've seen something similar on NCL.Epic a couple.of times but the Cavern was always packed to the rafters

 

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