What I wish I would have known MSC Meraviglia

[danny8826]

Great review.

I'll be on the MSC Meraviglia on April 18th with 6 other people for 11 nights.

We have sail with NCL, Carnival, RCL, and Princess. My least favorite is Princess....BBBOOORRRIIINNNGGG...

 

Can't wait to try something new. :)

[basketballdad]

Getting off in Barcelona was the smoothest experience we have had. No customs. No lines. It was like at an airport, just grab your bags and go. A small line for taxis...we happened to have a tour arranged so we got out of there...Barcelona day tours was good for our day trip to andora.

[1IC]

Great review.

I'll be on the MSC Meraviglia on April 18th with 6 other people for 11 nights.

We have sail with NCL, Carnival, RCL, and Princess. My least favorite is Princess....BBBOOORRRIIINNNGGG...

 

Can't wait to try something new. :)

Hi Danny, I too will be on Meraviglia on the 18th of April. I should say we have a week to confirm. I was so excited we booked a long time ago, before the ship was even finished. Now I read the reviews (some here, some on trip advisor) and most are bad (unless your YC). Are you concerned at all?

We are on for another 11 days on the 29th, so 22 days in total.

[JUSRN]

NCLs superhigh prices for the Haven is the best advert MSC can get for their Yacht Club.

 

MSCs Yacht Club must be the best value for money in the whole cruise industri.

 

Not only is water included all Champagne you can drink is also included in the price.

 

You can see in my signature that I like NCL but I still think that MSCs Yacht Club is the best value for money.

 

 

I totally agree!

Maybe we should keep this to ourselves so MSC doesn’t catch on and raise the prices of Yacht Club. LOL

[basketballdad]

Glad you got y.c. we went over the holidays and did not book soon enough. It had been sold out for a long long time. And prices skyrocketed during the school break as the do with most lines. Oh well, a few years down the road and school breaks won't matter much any more.

[Ajnp]

I have to agree. PRE PURCHASE everything before you go on the ship.

We did Aug 2017 in Europe on MSC Meraviglia and glad we pre purchased most of our tours before hand.

adding the $0.00 water package before you sail to avoid confusion also.

 

Everything is in Euro so more expensive once you board. Some tours got sold out. But more importantly the cost /conversion rate made it better to pre purchase.

 

The biggest regret was not pre ordering the laundry package as there was a laundry deal for $20 US before we sailed..

once we were on the ship that deal was not avail. and laundry was in EURO.. per item !

(My brother in law found it cheaper to buy 4 pairs new socks from H&M whilst in port in Barcelona rather than pay the laundry fee for 1 pair LOL)

 

We stayed in Naples pre cruise so we had a lot of dirty laundry, was prepared to pay /wash onboard...

but it was very expensive. and travelling with kids we had a lot of dirty clothes!

[danny8826]

Hi Danny, I too will be on Meraviglia on the 18th of April. I should say we have a week to confirm. I was so excited we booked a long time ago, before the ship was even finished. Now I read the reviews (some here, some on trip advisor) and most are bad (unless your YC). Are you concerned at all?

We are on for another 11 days on the 29th, so 22 days in total.

 

 

Hello, glad we will be on the same cruise.

No, I'm not a bit concern. I will go with an open mind because so many people want different things. Some are use to be catered on hand and feet and you will most likely hear complaints from those. I have cruise many times with Royal, Carnival, Norwegian, and Princess. The most boring one would be Princess and the worse of over all would be Carnival. I speak from my opinion and other might feel differently.

So I will try this cruise line out and see if I will come back again.

[danny8826]

We are thinking of booking both of the Cirque shows with cocktail or one with dinner and one with cocktail.

Does anyone have any info on the seating? We don't want it too close up, but we don't want to sit in the back either. Would it be better to go for the dinner package or cocktail package?

 

Thank you.

Danny

[SquishTheWhale]

Thank you for your review! Some interesting points. It seemed like you didn't enjoy yourself overall, but it could be down to the difference between MSC and the American lines you have sailed.

 

To those who are shocked at the charge for water, this is part of travelling in Europe. Tap water is not always drinkable (although the ships water likely is), and therefore when sitting down in a restaurant you must pay for bottled water. There is no free tap water in most European restaurants. It is a little annoying and something we have to get used to whenever travelling in Europe, but it is what it is. So I'm not hugely shocked to learn it's the same on MSC.

 

I think it's a bit much to expect a non American line sailing the Med to serve classic American food- you are in Europe so enjoy the local cuisine!

[nikkiw60]

Thank you for your review! Some interesting points. It seemed like you didn't enjoy yourself overall, but it could be down to the difference between MSC and the American lines you have sailed.

 

To those who are shocked at the charge for water, this is part of travelling in Europe. Tap water is not always drinkable (although the ships water likely is), and therefore when sitting down in a restaurant you must pay for bottled water. There is no free tap water in most European restaurants. It is a little annoying and something we have to get used to whenever travelling in Europe, but it is what it is. So I'm not hugely shocked to learn it's the same on MSC.

 

I think it's a bit much to expect a non American line sailing the Med to serve classic American food- you are in Europe so enjoy the local cuisine!

 

 

 

You can always get tap water in France or at least Paris. Just request a carafe d’eau.

And in the U.K. no problem for asking for tap water, including high end restaurants.

 

 

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[Rhea98]

.... Are you concerned at all?

We are on for another 11 days on the 29th, so 22 days in total.

I am cognizant of the issues so "concern" may edge my enthusiasm. We're on the 29th cruise and the week after that. Because we always eat too much on cruises, we hope the food is less than tasty--although I've read that the breads/pizza/desserts which we normally skip while cruising (not tasty), are really good! I can't wait to get on that ship as I love huge ships. We chose these cruises for the itineraries as well as the price which totally beat our 45th anniversary cruise we'd previously arranged for August on our usual NCL line. Further, it will likely be our last cruise as our vacation funds will be going into a vacation home we've just purchased. I read all I can find just so I'll know what to expect. It won't matter what it's like, as long as my expectations are reasonable. Great advice here about the laundry purchase ahead of time. I'm going to watch for deals pre-cruise. We did book our spa passes the same day we booked the cruise last spring and now the prices are double. Although I have the confirmations and the proof of payment on those passes, one set is no longer showing on the web site. I hope it's just another website glitch but will call in plenty of time to make sure it's on the account. I believe there will be many, many more pluses than minuses on these cruises assuming we don't lie dead in the water or sink--both of which could happen (but in all probability, won't).

[SquishTheWhale]

You can always get tap water in France or at least Paris. Just request a carafe d’eau.

And in the U.K. no problem for asking for tap water, including high end restaurants.

 

 

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I live in the UK so I am aware of that lol. Fun fact, in the UK if a restaurant serves alcohol they are legally required to provide free tap water.

 

In a lot of the Med, Spain for example, and the Balearics and Canaries you have to pay for water with your meal as it is bottled. I haven't been to France for a few years but I'm sure you're right that it's usually provided for free there. All I'm saying is that Europeans are more used to the concept, which is probably why we didn't kick off and get it for free! Maybe we should have lol.

[nikkiw60]

I live in the UK so I am aware of that lol. Fun fact, in the UK if a restaurant serves alcohol they are legally required to provide free tap water.

 

 

 

In a lot of the Med, Spain for example, and the Balearics and Canaries you have to pay for water with your meal as it is bottled. I haven't been to France for a few years but I'm sure you're right that it's usually provided for free there. All I'm saying is that Europeans are more used to the concept, which is probably why we didn't kick off and get it for free! Maybe we should have lol.

 

 

 

Sorry didn’t realise you were UK also.

We always do cheap and ask for tap!

I

 

 

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[SquishTheWhale]

Sorry didn’t realise you were UK also.

We always do cheap and ask for tap!

I

 

 

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Haha us too. I don't really like paying for water but you just do it when in Spain etc. Although we did get ripped off in one restaurant in Majorca to the tune of €5 for a bottle once :loudcry:

[Ajnp]

We are thinking of booking both of the Cirque shows with cocktail or one with dinner and one with cocktail.

Does anyone have any info on the seating? We don't want it too close up, but we don't want to sit in the back either. Would it be better to go for the dinner package or cocktail package?

 

Thank you.

Danny

 

We got the cocktail package and were 10th in line (lined up 40mins prior to the show only because our husbands were watching a football match at the sports bar so the wives just waited in line and chatted as we could see a line already forming with a drink in hand the time went quickly)

 

Its first in first serve.. we got the last of the front row and it was fabulous!! .

the meal packages are seated further back

You get a champagne cocktail and a canapé next to your seat.

10mins before the show there was a huge line up, people pushing and trying to cut in, invading your personal space basically anything to get closer to the front of the line :o

[1IC]

We got the cocktail package and were 10th in line (lined up 40mins prior to the show only because our husbands were watching a football match at the sports bar so the wives just waited in line and chatted as we could see a line already forming with a drink in hand the time went quickly)

 

Its first in first serve.. we got the last of the front row and it was fabulous!! .

the meal packages are seated further back

You get a champagne cocktail and a canapé next to your seat.

10mins before the show there was a huge line up, people pushing and trying to cut in, invading your personal space basically anything to get closer to the front of the line :o

Thanks Ajnp. Good to know. We might purchase the cocktail package as well.

[1IC]

I am cognizant of the issues so "concern" may edge my enthusiasm. We're on the 29th cruise and the week after that. Because we always eat too much on cruises, we hope the food is less than tasty--although I've read that the breads/pizza/desserts which we normally skip while cruising (not tasty), are really good! I can't wait to get on that ship as I love huge ships. We chose these cruises for the itineraries as well as the price which totally beat our 45th anniversary cruise we'd previously arranged for August on our usual NCL line. Further, it will likely be our last cruise as our vacation funds will be going into a vacation home we've just purchased. I read all I can find just so I'll know what to expect. It won't matter what it's like, as long as my expectations are reasonable. Great advice here about the laundry purchase ahead of time. I'm going to watch for deals pre-cruise. We did book our spa passes the same day we booked the cruise last spring and now the prices are double. Although I have the confirmations and the proof of payment on those passes, one set is no longer showing on the web site. I hope it's just another website glitch but will call in plenty of time to make sure it's on the account. I believe there will be many, many more pluses than minuses on these cruises assuming we don't lie dead in the water or sink--both of which could happen (but in all probability, won't).

Congrats! Rhea! Maybe we'll see you on board! along with the other 4000+ LOL We have the ports and beautiful ship to look forward too!

[Rhea98]

Thanks. CC doesn't even have a roll call for this cruise. But, we'll have a great time. I've downloaded five languages to my phone for translation!

 

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