MSC Meriviglia Feb 16, 2020 7 Day Western Caribbean with photos

[Match Game 72]

The activities on board were lively and engaging for some passengers. We really just wanted to kick back and escape the cold on this trip, and so we spent much of the days at sea reading or playing cards.

 

The itinerary was originally two days at sea, but a third day at sea was added when we had to skip Ocean Cay. It was disappointing, but the captain made the right call. From Sunday through Friday, I barely felt the ship move. It has to be the most stable ship I can remember. Then on Friday night, I was awoken by our closet doors sliding back and forth on the track. I knew it would be too windy to dock at Ocean Cay. Each passenger received a refund of $55 in port fees.

[Match Game 72]

We stayed onboard for the Roatan stop. Here are some pictures from our tender to Belize. This is a tender-only port, and we shopped for a little while. The ships have to dock fairly far out and it was maybe a half hour ride to the port. Several sized boats were serving as tenders. On the way to port, we were on a large, double decker boat. On the way back, we were on a rather small boat. We choose to sit up near the captain and were partially soaked by the time we got back to the Meriviglia. It was like a water excursion on it's own. Fun and salty!

 

[Match Game 72]

Here's a tip for port days. Take a picture of the port information in your daily planner. That way you have it with you just in case.

 

[Match Game 72]

In Costa Maya, we had reservations at Jamie's Blue reef. I had read about them on cruise critic. And we enjoyed our time there completely. It's a fairly long walk from the ship to the taxi stand. But it's pleasant enough with plenty of thing to view along the way.

 

[blueslily]

4 minutes ago, Match Game 72 said:

Here's a tip for port days. Take a picture of the port information in your daily planner. That way you have it with you just in case.

 

 

Thats a great tip. Hope I never need it. 😁 but, maybe some of the runners might need it in the future if theyvare a tad too late next time, 😉

[Match Game 72]

Jamie's Blue Reef was all inclusive with lounge chairs, shade, drinks and food. We paid $50 per adult and $30 for the teenager. It was completely worth the money to have seats waiting for us. The staff there was fantastic. So welcoming. Our server, Manel, told us to ask her for anything we need, and she meant it! 

 

The beach was clean, and it was very calm inside of the coral reef. A nice beach if you have younger kids. We snorkeled for a bit and saw quite a few fish. It was a lovely day.

 

[Match Game 72]

The DIsembarkation information was delivered to the cabin 2 nights before arrival in Miami. I suggest reading this carefully. It is jammed packed with instructions in small font. For example, if you have a credit on your account, you must get the cash from a machine near guest services before disembarkation. This was a new one for us. I thought it would be returned to our credit card, but no. 

 

Overall, the trip was exactly what we needed - a relaxing, warm getaway. Was everything perfect - no. But I don't expect perfection. We got very good service from MSC. We enjoyed many meals and savored a few drinks. We even purchased a few family pictures from Elegant night to seal the memories. 🙂

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[rkacruiser]

Thank you for an informative review with your photos!  I sailed on Meraviglia on January 5th and did not get to all of the areas on the ship that you did.  She is a lovely vessel, friendly crew, good service, and good pizza.  As a new MSC cruiser, I was very positively impressed.  

 

One negative:  I drove to the Port of Miami, parking my car at Garage G.  I won't be making that mistake again.  Getting to Miami:  no issue on a Sunday morning.  Getting to Terminal F to drop off luggage and then getting to the parking garage:  a whole different story.

[mamaneedsavacay]

Great review, thanks for all the info!

[Preziosa]

In which bar was it most Easy to have the shot of alcohol directly in the Virgin drink.

it taste Better...

[skings]

Loved all pictures especially "chocolate shop" thanks for including menus with prices.

I will be on the TA to Kiel in April, starting diet now so can fuel up with goodies.

[Match Game 72]

13 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Thank you for an informative review with your photos!  I sailed on Meraviglia on January 5th and did not get to all of the areas on the ship that you did.  She is a lovely vessel, friendly crew, good service, and good pizza.  As a new MSC cruiser, I was very positively impressed.  

 

One negative:  I drove to the Port of Miami, parking my car at Garage G.  I won't be making that mistake again.  Getting to Miami:  no issue on a Sunday morning.  Getting to Terminal F to drop off luggage and then getting to the parking garage:  a whole different story.

You're welcome.

 

How did I forget the pizza? MSC has awesome pizza. Always hot and fresh without being heavy or soggy. Merviglia pizza crust is white. I did not see any whole wheat crust nor did I see the fantastic charcoal crust that they serve on other ships. I asked the pizza chef, and he told me that corporate decides the type of pizza for each ship.

 

I can believe that it was stressful to drive around the Port of Miami. Traffic was thick, and the signs could be difficult to follow. We were glad that the shuttle driver knew his way.

[Match Game 72]

6 hours ago, Preziosa said:

In which bar was it most Easy to have the shot of alcohol directly in the Virgin drink.

it taste Better...

As I recall, the main pool bar (Atmosphere) combined them, and sometimes the Bamboo pool bar combined the drink & shot. We also went to the Edge bar where one time it was separate and another time (same bar tender) it was combined. So, it was not consistent.

[Match Game 72]

4 hours ago, skings said:

Loved all pictures especially "chocolate shop" thanks for including menus with prices.

I will be on the TA to Kiel in April, starting diet now so can fuel up with goodies.

No problem. I know I like to understand the costs of things so we can decide where to splurge and where to find an alternative.

 

And here is some precruise diet motivation. On one afternoon, the MSC Meriviglia pastry chefs really excelled. It was reminiscent of the old midnight buffets where the chefs displayed there more creative food works of art.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2020 by Match Game 72

[Preziosa]

Which Day did you have that wonderful buffet in the afternoon..

thabk you for a great review. We sail the 5 th of April on Meraviglia

[SunnydayKim]

Thank you for all of the pictures and great description! 

 

Do you have a picture of what you did for the extra closet space? (Were the extra shelves hung in the closet?) We will have 3 in the cabin as well and I am used to more closet space on other cruise lines. 

 

Thank you! 

 

Kim

[Match Game 72]

1 hour ago, Preziosa said:

Which Day did you have that wonderful buffet in the afternoon..

thabk you for a great review. We sail the 5 th of April on Meraviglia

The pastry buffet was on the sea day after Costa Maya (Friday).

 

Have a wonderful time on the ship. We would sail her again without question.

Edited March 1, 2020 by Match Game 72

[Match Game 72]

1 hour ago, SunnydayKim said:

Thank you for all of the pictures and great description! 

 

Do you have a picture of what you did for the extra closet space? (Were the extra shelves hung in the closet?) We will have 3 in the cabin as well and I am used to more closet space on other cruise lines. 

 

Thank you! 

 

Kim

Hi Kim, I'm glad you liked the pictures.

 

To deal with the storage issue, we brought 3  collapsible cubes:

https://www.dollartree.com/home-decor/decorative-cube-storage/

This meant that I could stack a couple of them in the open shelving. It prevented socks from falling all over the floor.

I also brought a set of magnetic hooks to hang up PJs, swimsuits and belts like this (not the exact set I have. mine are 80 lbs):

https://smile.amazon.com/Magnetic-Strong-Neodymium-Kitchen-Workplace/dp/B081JP3VKY/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=heavy+duty+magnetic+hooks&qid=1583080149&sr=8-14

 

 

And for laundry, I brought 2 pop up hampers like this:

https://smile.amazon.com/Mesh-Popup-Laundry-Hamper-Collapsible/dp/B00HZ0ION8/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2EUFMARP3ET2L&keywords=clothes+hamper&qid=1583080246&sprefix=clothes%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-4

 

Hope this helps!

[aprilF]

Thank you for letting us know that the dishes could still be sanitized even though the ship had no hot water.  That and hand washing were my concerns about your sailing.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 2/29/2020 at 11:28 AM, Match Game 72 said:

 

 

 

wow, the prices are very high. Regal Princess has 3 scoops of gelato in a free waffle cone for $3.50.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 2/29/2020 at 7:28 PM, Match Game 72 said:

Overall, the trip was exactly what we needed - a relaxing, warm getaway. Was everything perfect - no. But I don't expect perfection. We got very good service from MSC. We enjoyed many meals and savored a few drinks. We even purchased a few family pictures from Elegant night to seal the memories. 🙂

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

thank you for the review! We hope to be on Mera in about a month... 

[Match Game 72]

4 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

wow, the prices are very high. Regal Princess has 3 scoops of gelato in a free waffle cone for $3.50.

I forgot to mention that poolside offers free ice cream. It's soft serve vanilla, chocolate, or twist. The cones are waffle cones. It's nowhere near the quality of handscooped gelato, but if you have a voracious teen with you, it is just fine!

Edited March 3, 2020 by Match Game 72

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, Match Game 72 said:

I forgot to mention that poolside offers free ice cream. It's soft serve vanilla, chocolate, or twist. The cones are waffle cones. It's nowhere near the quality of handscooped gelato, but if you have a voracious teen with you, it is just fine!

I have a voracious 9 year old and 43 year old with me. They are huge fans of the free soft serve.

[ms sjsky]

Thanks for the great review and pictures!  We'll be sailing for the first time on MSC in September on this ship.  Is the MSC for Me app free to use for anyone, or do you need to sign up for a wifi package?  I'm not tech savvy, but if I could use the app while on the ship then I will download it.

 

Thanks.

[Preziosa]

Is it ok with a copy of the passport when you leave the ship for excurtions. I Don t like to take the original passport out of the ship...in This area