MSC Meraviglia 28Oct, 2019 - 13Nights REPO

[marcoigna]

hi all

 

booked this cruise sometime ago -

 

chime in if u might be on the same sailing

[Redlondon]

Hi we Red & Maz, not many replies on here . Looking forward to the cruise, wonder if there will be a Dorothy meet?

[CruisinMaterial]

Hey Ignazio, Marco, Red & Maz!

 

I'm Jake and I've just decided to join you on this sailing. I'll be cruising with my mom who will be celebrating a milestone birthday and I'll be celebrating a milestone of my own on the ship too! I'm from Boston, MA (USA). I'm very much excited about the Meraviligia as a British friend sailed on her late last year and while she wasn't keen on it, she said the entertainment was the best she'd seen at sea in a long while. I was on the Seaside last October and could say the same too. Quite excited for Cirque Du Soleil!

 

Anyway, on the Seaside they did have one GLBT meet up during a sea day and I envision this happening on this voyage as well. We can always do something informal too. I'm in the regular part of the ship, no Yacht Club here... so if you're up there, you'll have to schlep with the commoners to say hello! lol! 🤣

 

51 Days but who is counting! 😎

[marcoigna]

On 8/29/2019 at 8:22 PM, Redlondon said:

Hi we Red & Maz, not many replies on here . Looking forward to the cruise, wonder if there will be a Dorothy meet?

 

good day - yes, they should have an LGBTQ get together - as they have had on the Seaside and Divina - the Divina was much more active than the Seaside - but they being said On the Divina is was advertised every day,but not as much on the Seaside - but that is not to say that once we meet, that we just cant arrange to meet certain evenings... 

 

we are  group of 18 - some gay ,,, mostly straight, but they are not online with these boards....

 

I see you are from the UK - nice - spending some time in New York?  

 

where about are you on the ship?

 

looking very much forward to this sailing as well as the Meraviglia....

 

 

[Redlondon]

3 minutes ago, marcoigna said:

 

good day - yes, they should have an LGBTQ get together - as they have had on the Seaside and Divina - the Divina was much more active than the Seaside - but they being said On the Divina is was advertised every day,but not as much on the Seaside - but that is not to say that once we meet, that we just cant arrange to meet certain evenings... 

 

we are  group of 18 - some gay ,,, mostly straight, but they are not online with these boards....

 

I see you are from the UK - nice - spending some time in New York?  

 

where about are you on the ship?

 

looking very much forward to this sailing as well as the Meraviglia....

 

 

Hi, wow group of 18. Are you all from USA? Yes we from UK, we are staying in Yacht Club, are all 18 of your group in YC? 

We are just flying into NYC on 27th as we’ve been New York a few times and just meeting up with friends who live there on the morning of embarkation ( I’m sure the ship doesn’t depart until 7pm?) 

I’m looking forward to Yacht Club as I did it on Seaside, but I’m concerned about the glass canopy blocking the sun around the one pool. I loved the pool layout on Seaside and the outside seating in the lounge. I don’t think Meraviglia has the outside seats. Not many weeks to wait now! 

See you onboard!

[Redlondon]

On 9/7/2019 at 8:08 PM, CruisinMaterial said:

Hey Ignazio, Marco, Red & Maz!

 

I'm Jake and I've just decided to join you on this sailing. I'll be cruising with my mom who will be celebrating a milestone birthday and I'll be celebrating a milestone of my own on the ship too! I'm from Boston, MA (USA). I'm very much excited about the Meraviligia as a British friend sailed on her late last year and while she wasn't keen on it, she said the entertainment was the best she'd seen at sea in a long while. I was on the Seaside last October and could say the same too. Quite excited for Cirque Du Soleil!

 

Anyway, on the Seaside they did have one GLBT meet up during a sea day and I envision this happening on this voyage as well. We can always do something informal too. I'm in the regular part of the ship, no Yacht Club here... so if you're up there, you'll have to schlep with the commoners to say hello! lol! 🤣

 

51 Days but who is counting! 😎

Hi Jake, we are in Yacht Club but will be outside the area at night as we like to try different bars. We are from UK and have sailed in all the experiences. We did Aurea and Yacht Club on Seaside and Fantastica balcony on Seaview- we happy just to be cruising :-) See you onboard .

[marcoigna]

8 minutes ago, Redlondon said:

Hi, wow group of 18. Are you all from USA? Yes we from UK, we are staying in Yacht Club, are all 18 of your group in YC? 

We are just flying into NYC on 27th as we’ve been New York a few times and just meeting up with friends who live there on the morning of embarkation ( I’m sure the ship doesn’t depart until 7pm?) 

I’m looking forward to Yacht Club as I did it on Seaside, but I’m concerned about the glass canopy blocking the sun around the one pool. I loved the pool layout on Seaside and the outside seating in the lounge. I don’t think Meraviglia has the outside seats. Not many weeks to wait now! 

See you onboard!

 

good day - yes we are all in the YC - i was a little concerned about the glass panels, but have also seen many pictures showing the sun shining thru - i think they might be mostly wind blockers - i am not much of a sitter anyway and will be wandering the ship many times a day - might checkout the Aurea section as seems to have alot of sun...

 

we are all from Canada and the U.S.  

 

we are flying down on the 26th as we have relatives just across in New Jersey that we will be staying with ...  after the cruise, just the 2 of us are flying to Paradise Island in the Bahamas for 4 days before returning back home.

 

we have only done the YC with MSC - it is hard to go back the other way once you experience it...our first cruise with MSC for for my birthday in 2014 - where we did a repo from Miami to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the World Cup....we are lucky to have sailed in the Sofia Loren Royal Suite for the 21nights....

 

we did the Seaside now for a total of 4 weeks, - but like I say we are excited about the Meraviglia as it seems to be somewhere between the Seaside and Divina (we absolutely love the Divina) 

 

we are on Deck 15 on the Meraviglia but we are all over between the 4 passenger decks in the YC,,,,

 

I think we will be a bit of guinea pigs as i think the Meraviglia will try to adhere to American Lifestyle on the ship preparing for the upcoming Caribbean season...- this is why we love MSC so much, as being European ourselves.

 

cant wait for Ocean Cay - was lucky enough to snatch one of the YC Cabanas as well.

 

will be great to meet you both on board....

 

are u dressing for Halloween?

 

[Redlondon]

5 hours ago, marcoigna said:

 

good day - yes we are all in the YC - i was a little concerned about the glass panels, but have also seen many pictures showing the sun shining thru - i think they might be mostly wind blockers - i am not much of a sitter anyway and will be wandering the ship many times a day - might checkout the Aurea section as seems to have alot of sun...

 

we are all from Canada and the U.S.  

 

we are flying down on the 26th as we have relatives just across in New Jersey that we will be staying with ...  after the cruise, just the 2 of us are flying to Paradise Island in the Bahamas for 4 days before returning back home.

 

we have only done the YC with MSC - it is hard to go back the other way once you experience it...our first cruise with MSC for for my birthday in 2014 - where we did a repo from Miami to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the World Cup....we are lucky to have sailed in the Sofia Loren Royal Suite for the 21nights....

 

we did the Seaside now for a total of 4 weeks, - but like I say we are excited about the Meraviglia as it seems to be somewhere between the Seaside and Divina (we absolutely love the Divina) 

 

we are on Deck 15 on the Meraviglia but we are all over between the 4 passenger decks in the YC,,,,

 

I think we will be a bit of guinea pigs as i think the Meraviglia will try to adhere to American Lifestyle on the ship preparing for the upcoming Caribbean season...- this is why we love MSC so much, as being European ourselves.

 

cant wait for Ocean Cay - was lucky enough to snatch one of the YC Cabanas as well.

 

will be great to meet you both on board....

 

are u dressing for Halloween?

 

Hi, we are on deck 16, I think the Yacht Club is bigger on Meraviglia than Seaside ( more cabins). I hope so otherwise the lounge will be crowded . Does the bar stay open late ? We will probably go outside the the bars around the ship at night. I like the look of Sky lounge. We are on the old Yacht Club package as booked prior to November drinks package changes, so I’m hoping we will still get the smoked cocktails ( I’ve read so do but some don’t ).

 

I had party of 16 on Seaside last year for my birthday, all Aurea, then 4 of us stayed on in Yacht Club second week. Our friends last year tried to get Yacht Club RS but it was booked, they usually have the Reflection suite on Celebrity, which we visited, that suite was amazing ( but you pay for it).

 

We love Divina, but Preziosa is my favourite of that class, as I like the redesigned bar in the lounge at the back. I loved Seaside . 

We won’t be dressing up for Halloween, I hate dressing up in fancy dress, ( I’m too British lol ) partner would but we struggle with airline allowance. 

 

Do you know if there is a Yacht Club area on Ocean Cay? I read it won’t be open but then I read they would be using Aurea section? not sure what to believe. 

 

It will be interesting to see if MSC Americanise the cruise once in NYC. On Celebrity the entertainment is limited on Repo cruises but I don’t think MSC do. 

 

21 nights in YC must have been amazing . I’m excited about 13 nights. Although I’m not a good traveller and YC is at the front so more movement ( Did help that I read someone say Meraviglia isn’t very stable in rough seas). I’ll be the one wearing the ear patches lol. 

[marcoigna]

39 minutes ago, Redlondon said:

Hi, we are on deck 16, I think the Yacht Club is bigger on Meraviglia than Seaside ( more cabins). I hope so otherwise the lounge will be crowded . Does the bar stay open late ? We will probably go outside the the bars around the ship at night. I like the look of Sky lounge. We are on the old Yacht Club package as booked prior to November drinks package changes, so I’m hoping we will still get the smoked cocktails ( I’ve read so do but some don’t ).

 

I had party of 16 on Seaside last year for my birthday, all Aurea, then 4 of us stayed on in Yacht Club second week. Our friends last year tried to get Yacht Club RS but it was booked, they usually have the Reflection suite on Celebrity, which we visited, that suite was amazing ( but you pay for it).

 

We love Divina, but Preziosa is my favourite of that class, as I like the redesigned bar in the lounge at the back. I loved Seaside . 

We won’t be dressing up for Halloween, I hate dressing up in fancy dress, ( I’m too British lol ) partner would but we struggle with airline allowance. 

 

Do you know if there is a Yacht Club area on Ocean Cay? I read it won’t be open but then I read they would be using Aurea section? not sure what to believe. 

 

It will be interesting to see if MSC Americanise the cruise once in NYC. On Celebrity the entertainment is limited on Repo cruises but I don’t think MSC do. 

 

21 nights in YC must have been amazing . I’m excited about 13 nights. Although I’m not a good traveller and YC is at the front so more movement ( Did help that I read someone say Meraviglia isn’t very stable in rough seas). I’ll be the one wearing the ear patches lol. 

good day once again.

 

so - i truly think the smoky drinks will be included - ( i dont know which bar may have these, on the Seaside, it was very convenient to the YC)  we too booked December of 2017 for this cruise, so all is old....they keep changing, its kinda crazy.

 

we were in the RS for the 4 weeks we were on Seaside - great suite. (booked the day they came out - always the best price)  i got them to include the cabana for the duration with the RS  and stuck ever since...

 

100%, there will be a YC section on Ocean Cay - so no issue - it may not be the dedicated area, but there will be a YC section

 

we too party on the outside of YC at night, then last night-cap before bed back in YC - they usually open until atleast 200am - if not, you can order room service 24 hours (hmmmm, i think i have done this a few times)   

 

hope this helps -  

 

 

[Redlondon]

1 hour ago, marcoigna said:

good day once again.

 

so - i truly think the smoky drinks will be included - ( i dont know which bar may have these, on the Seaside, it was very convenient to the YC)  we too booked December of 2017 for this cruise, so all is old....they keep changing, its kinda crazy.

 

we were in the RS for the 4 weeks we were on Seaside - great suite. (booked the day they came out - always the best price)  i got them to include the cabana for the duration with the RS  and stuck ever since...

 

100%, there will be a YC section on Ocean Cay - so no issue - it may not be the dedicated area, but there will be a YC section

 

we too party on the outside of YC at night, then last night-cap before bed back in YC - they usually open until atleast 200am - if not, you can order room service 24 hours (hmmmm, i think i have done this a few times)   

 

hope this helps -  

 

 

Thanks that’s good to know, see you onboard 🙂 

[CruisinMaterial]

Hey Guys!

 

Glad things are picking up here as we approach the cruise! It seems like I'll see most of you guys out and about on the ship at night. The nightclub is close to the Sky Lounge. I finally figured out where it was!

 

As for the ship going to be more Americanized... I wouldn't worry about it too much. The Seaside was trying to cater to everyone when I sailed and did a pretty good job at it! I'm confident we will all like the Meraviglia no matter what service style there is. I'm just really overdue for a holiday! My June one was so on-the-go, I was exhausted when I came back and then summer peak with covering others holidays and yeah... just give me a deck chair, sun and food and I'm good at this point!

 

As for Halloween, I'll gauge it with what people do. Don't forget you can always do a toga by asking the stateroom steward for an extra bed sheet. Then all you need is a wreath for your head and those are lightweight and easy to pack (not a lot of space)! Can turn it into a toga party if enough folks do it!

 

I loved the amount of sun deck space the Seaside had. I never had a problem finding a lounger. This ship seems to have less sun space because the funnel area is much larger (housing the kids clubs, recreational areas and games). However, the ship isn't really sold out yet so hopefully between the rooms still available and the amount of solo cruisers it seems to have, maybe I won't have to fight the chair hogs for a seat whenever I roll out of bed!

 

Besides Ocean Cay, are you guys doing anything else? In St. Maarten I've always wanted to check out that Copecoy (sp?) beach... any interest?

[CruisinMaterial]

On 9/10/2019 at 5:12 PM, Redlondon said:

It will be interesting to see if MSC Americanise the cruise once in NYC. On Celebrity the entertainment is limited on Repo cruises but I don’t think MSC do. 

 

On repositioning cruises, what usually happens (strictly speaking off of traditional North American brands like NCL and RCCL), the ship spreads the main production shows out of the length of the voyage and usually runs them on the sea days. On port days there's filler folks brought in: comedians, solo and small group musicians and/or singers, variety acts, magic shows, etc. I'm hoping MSC will give us the head's up on those dates when production shows are not run so I can figure out when to book the Cirque Du Soleil experiences. Luckily we have two weeks to get into see both shows versus the customary one week so those shows should repeat or run longer during our sailing. If that's one thing that wowed me on MSC was the scale, detail and quality of singers in their Seaside production cast! Here's hoping they have a production show every other night in the main theater!

[Redlondon]

18 minutes ago, CruisinMaterial said:

Hey Guys!

 

Glad things are picking up here as we approach the cruise! It seems like I'll see most of you guys out and about on the ship at night. The nightclub is close to the Sky Lounge. I finally figured out where it was!

 

As for the ship going to be more Americanized... I wouldn't worry about it too much. The Seaside was trying to cater to everyone when I sailed and did a pretty good job at it! I'm confident we will all like the Meraviglia no matter what service style there is. I'm just really overdue for a holiday! My June one was so on-the-go, I was exhausted when I came back and then summer peak with covering others holidays and yeah... just give me a deck chair, sun and food and I'm good at this point!

 

As for Halloween, I'll gauge it with what people do. Don't forget you can always do a toga by asking the stateroom steward for an extra bed sheet. Then all you need is a wreath for your head and those are lightweight and easy to pack (not a lot of space)! Can turn it into a toga party if enough folks do it!

 

I loved the amount of sun deck space the Seaside had. I never had a problem finding a lounger. This ship seems to have less sun space because the funnel area is much larger (housing the kids clubs, recreational areas and games). However, the ship isn't really sold out yet so hopefully between the rooms still available and the amount of solo cruisers it seems to have, maybe I won't have to fight the chair hogs for a seat whenever I roll out of bed!

 

Besides Ocean Cay, are you guys doing anything else? In St. Maarten I've always wanted to check out that Copecoy (sp?) beach... any interest?

Do you mean the beach where the airplanes land in St Maarten? 

[CruisinMaterial]

Just now, Redlondon said:

Do you mean the beach where the airplanes land in St Maarten? 

No, that's Maho Beach by the airport... Cupecoy (or Copecoy) is allegedly the gay beach of SXM. The Seaside cruise, some of the gay folks said they banded together and went in the same taxi and had the taxi pick them up again. I just took the taxi with whomever and went up to Orient Beach for the day but would like to try out that beach this trip!

 

I think all the other stops minus Ocean Cay will be sightseeing with mom so I want to relax on the sand somewhere and gay-friendly is a bonus!

[CruisinMaterial]

I wonder if CC will allow this... check this out: https://gaysintmaarten.com/beaches/

[marcoigna]

On 9/11/2019 at 7:50 PM, CruisinMaterial said:

No, that's Maho Beach by the airport... Cupecoy (or Copecoy) is allegedly the gay beach of SXM. The Seaside cruise, some of the gay folks said they banded together and went in the same taxi and had the taxi pick them up again. I just took the taxi with whomever and went up to Orient Beach for the day but would like to try out that beach this trip!

 

I think all the other stops minus Ocean Cay will be sightseeing with mom so I want to relax on the sand somewhere and gay-friendly is a bonus!

 

good day - a few of us might be interested in joining you - being just a taxi, we can decide on board for sure - we are there a longtime, so perhaps spend a little time at Maho Beach - to watch the planes - KLM has the A330 - arrives at 325 / departs at 425pm - always a good site...

 

[Redlondon]

1 hour ago, marcoigna said:

 

good day - a few of us might be interested in joining you - being just a taxi, we can decide on board for sure - we are there a longtime, so perhaps spend a little time at Maho Beach - to watch the planes - KLM has the A330 - arrives at 325 / departs at 425pm - always a good site...

 

Will we have time to visit Cupecoy and Maho? Are they near each other? Will have to google, we will probably do Cupecoy as we’ve done Orient a few times. 

[marcoigna]

Just saw the times.  Aboard at 4pm.  Oh well - maybe not Maho this time.  Its a great time    Here is pic from last year.  

[CruisinMaterial]

This might sound like a dumb question but St. Maarten rebuilt their airport that fast? The whole thing was destroyed last year. I know it's a commercial hub so they have to get the planes back in. They're truly a sight to behold. Over the years they've added more fencing to get people further away from the jet blasts at take off. It's still a wild time. The KLM is just insane! It threw me into the water! Ah memories...

 

Ok, we can figure out the beaches on the ship. Here's hoping the LGBT gathering is on one of the sea days. On the Seaside they held it once and it wasn't in the beginning of the cruise which I thought was odd. Either way, I'll be around.... probably on the sun deck once we're after the first sea day and it warms up!

 

Redlondon - Yes Copecoy Beach and Maho Beach are close to each other and both on the Dutch side of the island where the ship docks, albeit the ship is on the other side of the Dutch side. The other two beaches are closer together and doable if you start at the furthest one in the AM (Copecoy) and move to Maho in the PM before heading back to the ship.

[CruisinMaterial]

[Redlondon]

11 hours ago, CruisinMaterial said:

This might sound like a dumb question but St. Maarten rebuilt their airport that fast? The whole thing was destroyed last year. I know it's a commercial hub so they have to get the planes back in. They're truly a sight to behold. Over the years they've added more fencing to get people further away from the jet blasts at take off. It's still a wild time. The KLM is just insane! It threw me into the water! Ah memories...

 

Ok, we can figure out the beaches on the ship. Here's hoping the LGBT gathering is on one of the sea days. On the Seaside they held it once and it wasn't in the beginning of the cruise which I thought was odd. Either way, I'll be around.... probably on the sun deck once we're after the first sea day and it warms up!

 

Redlondon - Yes Copecoy Beach and Maho Beach are close to each other and both on the Dutch side of the island where the ship docks, albeit the ship is on the other side of the Dutch side. The other two beaches are closer together and doable if you start at the furthest one in the AM (Copecoy) and move to Maho in the PM before heading back to the ship.

Hi, if we have to be onboard for 4pm, I don’t think it’s possible to do both, as the road back to the ship from Maho beach is notorious for slow traffic jam. I wouldn’t risk it. Yes it makes sense for the LGBT meet early in the cruise. 

[marcoigna]

10 hours ago, Redlondon said:

Hi, if we have to be onboard for 4pm, I don’t think it’s possible to do both, as the road back to the ship from Maho beach is notorious for slow traffic jam. I wouldn’t risk it. Yes it makes sense for the LGBT meet early in the cruise. 

in Total there are 5 gay men amongst our group - so with you 3 here -it’s a party already.  😘😘😘

[CruisinMaterial]

On 9/21/2019 at 7:08 AM, Redlondon said:

Hi, if we have to be onboard for 4pm, I don’t think it’s possible to do both, as the road back to the ship from Maho beach is notorious for slow traffic jam. I wouldn’t risk it. Yes it makes sense for the LGBT meet early in the cruise. 

I'm an early bird on port days (not on sea days). I would be up earlier enough and ready to go for 8AM to Noonish at Copecoy and move to Maho for a bit, maybe catch a bite at the bar/restaurant right there as they come in and then head back to the ship around 2PM. Doable but it would be a busy day... either way, I'm down for whatever... depends on how much your heart is set on Maho. I really want to try Copecoy this time around. I've been to St. Maarten so many times but frankly don't have the courage to do it alone. It's more out of the way than Orient Beach.

[CruisinMaterial]

21 hours ago, marcoigna said:

in Total there are 5 gay men amongst our group - so with you 3 here -it’s a party already.  😘😘😘

Woohoo! Who doesn't love a good party?! Speaking of which... any of you boys dressing up for Halloween?

[Redlondon]

My partner Maz would dress up but I’m too British (ha ha ) I hate dressing up! We will probably just do the gay beach as we’ve been to Maho a couple of times. The big KLM 747 no longer lands there I believe?