MSC Meraviglia vs MSC Seashore

[kj_connections]

Hi,

I am having a hard time deciding which ship to go on.  I will be traveling with two kids age 6 and 9.  We have done MSC Seaside before and enjoyed it.

Currently based on the itineraries these are my reasons for one ship over the other:

Seashore is $400 cheaper

Meraviglia goes to Costa Maya (I have never been) and has the galleria

 

Does anyone have better reasons than I do for one ship vs the other? 😆

[alohayall]

Your cruise history indicates you don’t just stick with one ship or cruise line.  Based on that, I’d say Meraviglia.

 

Otherwise, I’d say save the money and try a ship similar to one the kids previously enjoyed.

 

I see we both sailed the WBTA on the Magic on 2011 - hello, fellow cruiser.

 

I’m sailing the Seashore in 2 weeks and the Meraviglia in January. Never sailed MSC before.  
 

Bon Voyage

[kj_connections]

Thanks for the reply!  I wish I stuck to one cruise line - I would have accumulated some loyalty points by now!  But you are right, I do like trying new ships.  Curious to hear what you think of the 2 ships after you return.

 

PS. Would love to return to Disney but the prices have jumped significantly since 2011

[karmamule]

We've been on the Meraviglia and the Seaside (smaller sister ship to the Seashore) and as an overall way to distinguish them I'd say that Meraviglia-class ships are a little more inward focused, with really large inside spaces and less of an emphasis on exterior decks and such. On the other hand the Seaside ships emphasize outdoor spaces and connecting with the ocean more. 

 

The Meraviglia's central galleria with its LCD arched ceiling is the heart of the ship. I'd recommend watching a video and if you love the look of it, then maybe go for that. Otherwise I'd lean towards the Seashore just because it's their newest ship and it looks wonderful.

 

We loved our time on the Meraviglia, but we're really looking forward to being on the Seashore in January and seeing it for ourselves. And, by the way we love trying out different cruise lines too. We've also been on NCL and RCL, and in addition to the Seashore our cruises after that will be 2 more on NCL, one on Carnival Mardi Gras, then one on Virgin Voyages. It'll be interesting to see if we have a clear favorite after doing all those.

 

[deweytrader]

I would choose the Seashore, Seaside class is more fun for the kiddos.

[alohayall]

22 hours ago, karmamule said:

We've been on the Meraviglia and the Seaside (smaller sister ship to the Seashore) and as an overall way to distinguish them I'd say that Meraviglia-class ships are a little more inward focused, with really large inside spaces and less of an emphasis on exterior decks and such. On the other hand the Seaside ships emphasize outdoor spaces and connecting with the ocean more. 

 

The Meraviglia's central galleria with its LCD arched ceiling is the heart of the ship. I'd recommend watching a video and if you love the look of it, then maybe go for that. Otherwise I'd lean towards the Seashore just because it's their newest ship and it looks wonderful.

 

We loved our time on the Meraviglia, but we're really looking forward to being on the Seashore in January and seeing it for ourselves. And, by the way we love trying out different cruise lines too. We've also been on NCL and RCL, and in addition to the Seashore our cruises after that will be 2 more on NCL, one on Carnival Mardi Gras, then one on Virgin Voyages. It'll be interesting to see if we have a clear favorite after doing all those.

 

MSC describes Seashore as following the sun, focused on the outside, while Meraviglia is interior-focused.  From your description, it sounds like that really came through to the cruiser.

 

I thought I liked the smaller ships (Disney’s first two), but I have certainly enjoyed some larger ones - most recently NCL Encore.  I’m not sure if it’s the bigger size or the newness of these ships.

 

…. And I totally agree about Disney pricing; it has gone so far beyond outpacing inflation.  And currently, MSC has no penalty for cruising solo.  And my January Meraviglia sailing is about 1/6 the price of my Sep Disney Dream sailing - both with two days at private islands.

[kj_connections]

I was leaning towards Seashore but now I'm changing my mind because I am interested to see the LCD ceiling display in the Galleria on Meraviglia.  I assume Seashore will be shiny and new just like when I went on Seaside when it first came out 😉

 

Btw which one has a larger/longer outdoor pool?

[perakcruiser]

On 11/14/2021 at 12:15 AM, kj_connections said:

Meraviglia goes to Costa Maya (I have never been) and has the galleria

 

Costa Maya is in my opinion on of the worst cruise stops in the world and the worst in the Carib. Of cause you can ignore this if you just hop on the bus for the excursion to the Maya ruins/pyramids. 

 

On 11/14/2021 at 12:15 AM, kj_connections said:

 

I am having a hard time deciding which ship to go on.  I will be traveling with two kids age 6 and 9. 

Both kids clubs are equally excellent. When it comes to the ships I would prefer the Mera. But who wants to go with MSC and not try out both ship classes anyway? 🙂

[dexddd]

On 11/15/2021 at 1:53 PM, kj_connections said:

I was leaning towards Seashore but now I'm changing my mind because I am interested to see the LCD ceiling display in the Galleria on Meraviglia.  I assume Seashore will be shiny and new just like when I went on Seaside when it first came out 😉

 

Btw which one has a larger/longer outdoor pool?

For us, the Mera LCD show was a big let down.  I saw videos and it seemed they ran shows all day long, maybe they did but recently they had a couple late afternoon shows lasting maybe 5 minutes. 

[PRH]

We love Costa Maya!  We go to Maya Chan. A family run small beach day.  Transportation and lunch included.  

[MonsterJoe]

56 minutes ago, dexddd said:

For us, the Mera LCD show was a big let down.  I saw videos and it seemed they ran shows all day long, maybe they did but recently they had a couple late afternoon shows lasting maybe 5 minutes. 

I didn't even watch the shows beyond maybe 1 minute of the first time after we got on the ship, but I found the static LED ceilings that were always on, absolutely beautiful.

[Two Wheels Only]

On 11/16/2021 at 3:25 AM, perakcruiser said:

But who wants to go with MSC and not try out both ship classes anyway? 🙂

 

That's the plan. Within the next 6 months, I'll try both ships for the first time. Then, when one sails out of Miami, I'll try a World Class ship (World Europa, World America, whatever).