A Small Ship Girl’s Meraviglia Review - 11/17 Three Days to Ocean Cay

[Match Game 72]

I did enjoy your review!

Thank you very much for sharing.

[mawvkysc]

One last thing. I really appreciate that the staff never once pressured us or mentioned the survey. 

[lele100]

On 11/22/2022 at 4:53 PM, mawvkysc said:

I forgot to mention the lagoon beach didn’t need water shoes. 
 

We then walked over the bridge and looked at Bimini Beach. It’s very pretty too. I tried to get a drink at that bar but gave up because the line was so long. I never saw servers walking around. You pretty much had to go to the bar. We walked back over to the island buffet. I was tempted to just get a burger from one of the shacks. Wish I did. The buffet line is dreadfully slow, and we were there a half hour before closing. It’s a bad design. Everyone has to go through every part of the line. Perhaps you could jump to the very end and grab a burger or hot dog. The food wasn’t worth the wait. The cookies were good. I can’t imagine what chaos it will be when the ship is full. So I suggest either eating a huge breakfast and skipping lunch or going to the burger shack. 
 

I tried another bar. They were out of ice. He gave me the leftovers of a Pina colada (from the blender) and floated extra rum on top. Finally a drink with taste. He didn’t swipe my card. If you’re a beer drinker you will be fine on this island. 
 

We made our way over to the Lighthouse Bar and I got a truly weak margarita. What I mean is the sour mix was very weak. No salt and little tequila. The bartenders looked stressed. The area is super pretty though. I didn’t see anyone ordering the food available there. 
 

I didn’t get to try snorkeling at Lighthouse Beach. We decided to use our last hour of the thermal pass and I went on the water slides again while hubby watched sail away.
 

I bought gelato by the slides. It was icy. I recommend buying it inside near Jean Philippe.  I tasted the same flavor later there and it was much better.  

Great review,  I was wondering since you walked OC, could you suggest which area, will have beach chairs, music and a bar all nearby and not too crowded?  Thanks

[Itchy&Scratchy]

great review, thank you!

[mawvkysc]

10 hours ago, lele100 said:

Great review,  I was wondering since you walked OC, could you suggest which area, will have beach chairs, music and a bar all nearby and not too crowded?  Thanks

They did not have live music when we were there, just piped in music. The first beach by the lighthouse was the most crowded. Sunset Beach  had a bar or two and was really pretty, and has some natural shade now. It was not very busy. There were even some beanbag type chairs and a table it two with umbrellas near the bar there. The bar opened a little later and had to wait for ice.  Every beach had plenty of loungers. You have to rent umbrellas unless you get there early to the Lighthouse beach and snag one of the free ones. An alternate idea would be North beach/Bimini Beach. If you  grab a lounger at one you can easily pop over to the other beach. One is lagoon and one is ocean. There is at least one bar there and a burger truck. I did not see bar servers here  (or anywhere except Lighthouse Beach) but you could order at the bar. 

[lcpagejr]

Nice review and comparisons,,,,  ased on reading your comments I would suggest trying Yacht Club. Your inconsistenciy issues, lines, inclusions  and overall service will be alot better. We've cruised Yacht Club twice and will not cruise MSC any other way.

[mawvkysc]

On 12/10/2022 at 12:53 PM, lcpagejr said:

Nice review and comparisons,,,,  ased on reading your comments I would suggest trying Yacht Club. Your inconsistenciy issues, lines, inclusions  and overall service will be alot better. We've cruised Yacht Club twice and will not cruise MSC any other way.

I wish! 😂 Remember I’m a budget cruiser! I’m actually looking at a 7 day in Feb (inside cabin) on Mera. So it wasn’t enough to care me away. 

[mowogo]

11 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

I wish! 😂 Remember I’m a budget cruiser! I’m actually looking at a 7 day in Feb (inside cabin) on Mera. So it wasn’t enough to care me away. 

I did a divina 3 day, and the crew said it is a very different experience on a 7 day than the 3 day.  Actually just booked a 7 day on the Mera for February since the fare was good, and the itinerary held some interest.

[mawvkysc]

32 minutes ago, mowogo said:

I did a divina 3 day, and the crew said it is a very different experience on a 7 day than the 3 day.  Actually just booked a 7 day on the Mera for February since the fare was good, and the itinerary held some interest.

I’m looking at two different 7 day sailings in Feb. myself. Very good fares. 

[disneykins]

Great review, thanks. Love looking at the menus and planners to prep for our trip. Going on an 11 day in Feb, really looking forward Ocean Cay (we go there twice). Budget traveller too, in an inside cabin.

Tony and Debbie.

[RC Dancers]

I loved your comparison to RCCL. One difference I have found between the two cruise lines is on Cruise Critic boards. Any negative comment on the RC board and the cheerleaders viciously attack.

[mawvkysc]

7 hours ago, RC Dancers said:

I loved your comparison to RCCL. One difference I have found between the two cruise lines is on Cruise Critic boards. Any negative comment on the RC board and the cheerleaders viciously attack.

I’ve been really impressed with how nice people are on this board. 

[Cherries Jubilee]

Thank you so much for your review!

[bluebeard39]

Thank You for the review as my wife and I are sailing her in March 7 day cruise.  We are long time RC cruisers but have gone on the Seaside and enjoyed it very much.  

[Luke gs Daddy]

What time did you actually get off the ship and how did you get back to your car?

Doing this trip 01/19

 

Thanks

[Nashna]

Thank you for the great review.  We are on her for 11-days in October, NYC, New England & Canada itinerary.  On our first Divina cruise, we sailed in a suite for four days and then changed to the YC for 7-days.  We totally enjoyed both experiences.  So glad you got to OC.  On our first itinerary, we spent the day at Sunset Beach, the second sailing, we stayed in the YC area.  

[KatieCruser]

Thank you for including so many food pictures! We keep hearing about how dreadfully small the portions are but they look like very decent portions. We leave on the Mera in two weeks!

[mawvkysc]

10 hours ago, Luke gs Daddy said:

What time did you actually get off the ship and how did you get back to your car?

Doing this trip 01/19

 

Thanks

We were out of the MDR breakfast by around 8:00. We were self assist so didn’t have to wait. We got in line to disembark around 8:30. I’d say it was about 25 minutes until we were out the door. It just happened that the shuttle bus was there but then we had to wait for a few people. I’d say it was about 10:15 when we got to the car at the hotel parking lot. 

[furluvcats]

Excellent inclusions In your review. Thanks so much. We sail her Jan. 8

[mawvkysc]

You’re welcome. I tried not to be wordy but failed 😆 @furluvcats

Edited January 3, 2023 by mawvkysc

[CruisingNole]

One of my takeaways is that if you enjoy a quality cocktail, you’re not going to get one on MSC. Based on your review. Which is disappointing.

[laumicmah]

Hey there! Nice review. I have some questions, if you don't mind. We are 50 and live in Kissimme now so we are looking at the 3 day Mera with overnight at Ocean Cay reserve. Easy for us to jump on those now, from Kissimmee. And we too are frugal travelers. After our 1st cruise on Disney, in 2007, we have done many many Carnival and 3 Royal cruises. Loved Carnival for the frugality but they are a little too party ship for us. 

 

So my questions...does the drink package work on the island? And the buffet and burger carts, are they also free on the island? Do you know how much a drink package is for the 3 day, per person? Not sure what Yacht Club is that I see talked about a lot but we will book cheapest...if bumping to this Yacht Club is way extra cost then we also won't bother.

 

Another question the hubby has is how the dress code is. We are not dressy people. No suits and ball dresses. Will khakis and polos for hubby and capris or sundress for me do fine for dining room? And t-shirts and shorts around the ship be okay? 

 

Thanks so much for the info.