Trip report of MSC Meraviglia YC Dec 1-8. 2019 sailing incl. Ocean Cay

[AeroXWD]

08.12 - Sunday - Disembarkation day 

 

I awoke at just before 5 AM, just as we were slowly passing Fisher Island

 

Sorry for the blurry pictures

 

 

The cranes of the port and the skyline behind

 

I went to bed again and slept for another hour before taking a shower and getting dressed for breakfast

 

 

Departure schedule.

 

I had the "MSC Express" for breakfast and we briefly chatted with the group of Norwegians who had asked their butler how long they could stay on the ship before disembarking - they were allowed to stay in the TSL until 10:30 or 11 (can't remember). We went to our room shortly before 8:00 and retrieved our carry-on luggage before going to the TSL, and we were then escorted down to the gangway and off the ship. Luggage retrieval was easy, and we were through the terminal quickly. We ordered an UBER to take us to Bayside, but it was slightly difficult to find a spot where the UBER could pick us up with all the passengers curbside. 

 

 

We dropped off our luggage at Bayside where you can store your luggage for the day for a small fee. We then just had a look at the stores before wandering along the shoreline. 

 

 

09:57 - We were a bit early for the Christmas market, with just a few vendors having opened.

 

 

 

We went to Whole Foods for a short while to have a look around and then returning to bayside to buy a christmas present as not all the stores had opened up when we were there initially. We then ordered an UBER to the airport.

 

We had an overpriced slice of pizza and then headed to our gate

 

15:35 - just seconds before pushback on SK 956, direct from Miami to Oslo on an Airbus A330. 

 

SAS Go (economy) seat wasn't nearly as spacious as SAS Plus, with a 2-4-2 configuration and only 31-32 between each row. We had paid an additional $70 to reserve two seats by the window, as I was fearing being placed in two middle seats for the 9-10 hour flight. I initially thought it was OK... But just minutes after take-off, and before the fasten seatbelt sign had been turned off, the passenger in front of me decided he would recline his seat all the way back, and I felt I was breathing on his head and was unable to read. I think his seat must have had a larger recline than the other seats, because I couldn't even take down my tray table properly with his seat in the maximum reclined position (Luckily the stewardess told him to reduce his recline when meal service came around). Coincidentally, we were seated in the row infront of two of the Norwegians we had met on the ship and always seemed to bump into.

 

Bye bye Miami, see you another time!

 

I tried to watch a movie, but I kept dozing off. 

 

We landed in Oslo at around 06:30, slightly ahead of schedule. I had originally planned to head to work after lunchtime, but after getting home and retrieving our dog, we just had a shower and went to bed and slept until 17:00 (before unpacking and then sleeping for another 8 hours before work the next day).

 

That concludes the trip-report. I'll write a short summary review of the ship, service, ports, etc. in another post later in the day or tomorrow. I appreciate all who have commented, and feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

 

 

[CruiseIreland]

Excellent review. Really enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to do it. Ken

PS. We really enjoyed the Norwegian Fjords last August. 

[skings]

Loved reading your review. Thanks for sharing😁

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, AeroXWD said:

08.12 - Sunday - Disembarkation day 

 

I awoke at just before 5 AM, just as we were slowly passing Fisher Island

 

Sorry for the blurry pictures

 

 

The cranes of the port and the skyline behind

 

I went to bed again and slept for another hour before taking a shower and getting dressed for breakfast

 

 

Departure schedule.

 

I had the "MSC Express" for breakfast and we briefly chatted with the group of Norwegians who had asked their butler how long they could stay on the ship before disembarking - they were allowed to stay in the TSL until 10:30 or 11 (can't remember). We went to our room shortly before 8:00 and retrieved our carry-on luggage before going to the TSL, and we were then escorted down to the gangway and off the ship. Luggage retrieval was easy, and we were through the terminal quickly. We ordered an UBER to take us to Bayside, but it was slightly difficult to find a spot where the UBER could pick us up with all the passengers curbside. 

 

 

We dropped off our luggage at Bayside where you can store your luggage for the day for a small fee. We then just had a look at the stores before wandering along the shoreline. 

 

 

09:57 - We were a bit early for the Christmas market, with just a few vendors having opened.

 

 

 

We went to Whole Foods for a short while to have a look around and then returning to bayside to buy a christmas present as not all the stores had opened up when we were there initially. We then ordered an UBER to the airport.

 

We had an overpriced slice of pizza and then headed to our gate

 

15:35 - just seconds before pushback on SK 956, direct from Miami to Oslo on an Airbus A330. 

 

SAS Go (economy) seat wasn't nearly as spacious as SAS Plus, with a 2-4-2 configuration and only 31-32 between each row. We had paid an additional $70 to reserve two seats by the window, as I was fearing being placed in two middle seats for the 9-10 hour flight. I initially thought it was OK... But just minutes after take-off, and before the fasten seatbelt sign had been turned off, the passenger in front of me decided he would recline his seat all the way back, and I felt I was breathing on his head and was unable to read. I think his seat must have had a larger recline than the other seats, because I couldn't even take down my tray table properly with his seat in the maximum reclined position (Luckily the stewardess told him to reduce his recline when meal service came around). Coincidentally, we were seated in the row infront of two of the Norwegians we had met on the ship and always seemed to bump into.

 

Bye bye Miami, see you another time!

 

I tried to watch a movie, but I kept dozing off. 

 

We landed in Oslo at around 06:30, slightly ahead of schedule. I had originally planned to head to work after lunchtime, but after getting home and retrieving our dog, we just had a shower and went to bed and slept until 17:00 (before unpacking and then sleeping for another 8 hours before work the next day).

 

That concludes the trip-report. I'll write a short summary review of the ship, service, ports, etc. in another post later in the day or tomorrow. I appreciate all who have commented, and feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

 

 

 

 

Tack så mycket!

 

I really enjoyed your review. Great pictures!

[AeroXWD]

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

Tack så mycket!

 

I really enjoyed your review. Great pictures!

 

Bara trevligt! Thanks!

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

Thank you very much for your excellent review and fantastic photos 😀 I really enjoyed them. Seems like you enjoyed the MSC Yacht Club, my favorite cruise product for sure. Bear in mind that it's hard to go back to a regular cabin after sailing in the MSC Yacht Club 😁

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Great review...really enjoyed it all the way through.  
Thanks so much!

[AeroXWD]

Thanks, @CGTNORMANDIE & @Norwegian Cruiser 73! We did indeed, and what excellent value! We joked that they must be losing money on us (but that was before we saw our bill from the casino). So much so that I'm not sure we could do it any other way.

 

We were talking about the cruise this night, and I got the distinct impression that a regular Bella or Fantastica was out of the question after having experienced YC 🤷‍♂️. It's not that a regular cabin is bad, but just that the Yacht Club is so good. I'm sure I would like it though. My fear before embarking the cruise was that she wouldn't like it, and therefore I decided we should book YC, knowing her dislike of long queues, but thankfully she was overwhelmed.

Edited December 22, 2019 by AeroXWD

[CGTNORMANDIE]

And what a wonderful way to end a fantastic voyage.  I predict you will be sailing again in the YC...sooner than later.

[psmarkle]

12 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

Thanks, @CGTNORMANDIE & @Norwegian Cruiser 73! We did indeed, and what excellent value! We joked that they must be losing money on us (but that was before we saw our bill from the casino). So much so that I'm not sure we could do it any other way.

 

We were talking about the cruise this night, and I got the distinct impression that a regular Bella or Fantastica was out of the question after having experienced YC 🤷‍♂️. It's not that a regular cabin is bad, but just that the Yacht Club is so good. I'm sure I would like it though. My fear before embarking the cruise was that she wouldn't like it, and therefore I decided we should book YC, knowing her dislike of long queues, but thankfully she was overwhelmed.

Ahhh, yes.  The "Addicted to the YC Syndrome" LOL  I am afflicted with it!  Wife mentioned booking an Aurea room for next cruise because it would be cheaper, and the rest of us just tilted our heads and gave her that "are you crazy!" look.

 

Truly enjoyed your review with all the great pics, especially of Ocean Cay...thank you so much!

[pepper]

On 12/19/2019 at 7:10 AM, psmarkle said:

To me, it looked like a barracuda, but I'm not an expert. 

The fins are all wrong for a baracuda.  Definitely looks like  a shark.  

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

18 minutes ago, pepper said:

The fins are all wrong for a baracuda.  Definitely looks like  a shark.  

 

Looked like a sand shark to me...fairly harmless.

 

 

[jimbri]

Great review and photos.  We were on the Meraviglia in October.

[troyandcarol]

Awesome review!! Thoroughly enjoyed it!!