MSC Meraviglia Review From a Novice Cruiser

[tonyfall1]

Hello,

 

This is only my second cruise and first in 20 years, but I just wanted to share my perspective on my cruise on the Meraviglia and with MSC. I kind of had certain expectations and perceptions about how this cruise would be and compare them to how it actually was.

 

Embarkation:

My perception from doing research was this was going to be a nightmare. The reality was it was very smooth. I arrived around 1:00 pm for a 2:30pm embarkation time it took 25 minutes perhaps before I was on the ship. I would give this a 8 out of 10.

 

The Ship:

It's beautiful 8.5 out of 10.

 

Service:

Again I had read a lot about service lacking, being short handed, rude employees etc. I really did not experience any of that. For the most part service was very good, everyone helpful and polite. My cabin steward and waiter were both exceptional. The only area where I would knock this down is bar service, overall I would give it a 7.5 our of 10.

 

Bar Service:

I figured I would make this a separate thread since there were a lot of complaints about this. Yes the bar service at the atmosphere bar was slow. They were constantly overwhelmed with people but I had no problem going to other bars that were not overwhelmed and getting a drink in timely manner.  The Atmosphere Bar and Ocean Cay were the only places I experienced slow bar service, and these bars were packed. I would give bar service a 6 out of 10.

 

Ocean Cay:

The island is beautiful, the buffet was good overall a great experience other than the bar service. 8.5 out of 10.

 

Buffet:

It started out strong especially the ethnic section, they had some good curry dishes.  Breakfast generally had a large selection, can't think of anything else I would want for breakfast, lunch was generally pretty good and same with dinner. Pizza was good, fries were really good, burgers were average. Pastries and desserts pretty good. I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.

 

MDR:

We had an 8:30 seating in Panorama. We also had a few lunches in Waves. We had a few really good meals a few average meals. Service was generally exceptional. I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.

 

Entertainment:

I thought  the entertainment was really good. We saw several good shows and lots of entertainment around the ship. I would say a 7 out of 10.

 

Overall I think MSC did a very good job.  My biggest complaints really have nothing to do with them.  This particular cruise had over 4300 people on it and many of them were teens and kids. It was not really the vibe I was looking for, again not MSC's fault. I think they did a fine job.  If you are looking for a mainstream cruise that offers great value that's what they are. I think I am probably more of a HAL type of a person and would prefer a smaller ship with fewer teens and kids.  I would book them again but probably only with yacht club, unless we plan on doing a family trip and bring our 3 twenty something kids with us.

 

 

 

 

[bruce85]

Thank you for the review. I sail on her Thursday. This will be my third with MSC. Never had a problem on previous 2. I have read reviews and we are heading into this cruise with an open mind, expecting the slow service. 

    We are very easy to please, so I think we will be fine. I figured the pool bars would be busy and had already planned on finding another bar which may be quieter. Last time on the island we went to the beach on the far of the island, it was a lot quieter there and bar was as busy. We plan on doing same this time. First time doing the overnight, so looking forward to the light show.

[Match Game 72]

OP, did your cruise leave on February 19th? If so, we were also on the cruise and I agree with much of what you wrote. I will be posting some details in the next week.

 

The week of Presidents Day is school vacation week for many US school systems. That's by there were many children onboard. I can't wait to be able to pick a different week in the future. 🙂

[B_A_H]

OP, great impartial review.  I'm sure it'll be appreciate by MSC novices looking for balanced feedback.  

[tonyfall1]

53 minutes ago, Match Game 72 said:

OP, did your cruise leave on February 19th? If so, we were also on the cruise and I agree with much of what you wrote. I will be posting some details in the next week.

 

The week of Presidents Day is school vacation week for many US school systems. That's by there were many children onboard. I can't wait to be able to pick a different week in the future. 🙂

Yes we were on the same cruise. Bad planning on my part I assumed most kids would be in school but I found out, New York, Georgia, Michigan and others were off for the week.

[paceyswife]

17 minutes ago, tonyfall1 said:

Yes we were on the same cruise. Bad planning on my part I assumed most kids would be in school but I found out, New York, Georgia, Michigan and others were off for the week.

We were on the same cruise as well. This was our third February winter break cruise with MSC (my boys are 14 and 17). We did Easter last year. This year was the most amount of kids I have seen on any of our MSC cruises. I think people are starting to discover MSC. We heard many around us complaining and comparing to Carnival. I’ve done one Carnival cruise and will never do again. But that’s just me. Our balcony faced Carnival’s ship in Nassau and the Meraviglia shone like the star she is. 
 

Your review was spot on. Our main complaint was Elegant night dining. We had the same seating and dining room as you. We were last to leave the dining room. Our waiter was bombarded with tables as he also had the Aurea diners as well as his assigned tables. Other waiters were standing around and one was even preening in the mirror. We spoke to the manager regarding this and tipped our waiter well at the end as service was no fault of his. He really busted his back trying to serve the back corner. 
 

I look forward to going back to Ocean Cay as we discovered the beach you spoke of after DH and I took a walk. Definitely quieter! 
 

Thanks for your review!

[dexddd]

We were on the prior two sailings.  One was 4,800.  Didn't really notice any staff shortages, actually the opposite.

 

We did see lines at OC.

 

Had a great time.