Meraviglia - my thoughts - we had a blast

[travelingtink]

 Not new to MSC but new to the big ships having only sailed the Armonia a few times. All of the “worst cruise ever” reviews had me nervous so I went in with very low expectations. While everything wasn’t perfect, we had an amazing time. Not doing an actual trip report, but will address some of the areas I’ve seen complaints about, 

 

Embarkation - we had a 12:30pm arrival time, but I knew we could arrive at any time. We took our time driving down from Disney, but arrived right around 12:30 anyway. Since I had a rental, I dropped our bags off at the terminal then took the car to Budget. Only had to wait for one person ahead of me before returning my car. There was a shuttle loading but it was going to a different terminal so we had to wait only about 5 minutes for a second van to arrive that was going to Terminal 10. Took another 10 minutes or so waiting for another family to finish their rental paperwork before we were able to leave. Upon arriving at the port, it took about 20 minutes to get through security and check in. 
 

The Ship - its simply the most beautiful ship I’ve ever sailed! Took a day to really get the lay of the land, but never really got lost. We had no issues with elevators and never had to wait for another elevator because one was too full. We did take advantage of the panoramic elevators since most people don’t even realize they are there. 
 

Buffet - we always headed towards the back since that’s a tip I’ve learned through the years. Most people crowd the front but the stations repeat, so head to the back and avoid the lines. We had no problem finding options for both of us. I like a lot of veggies and lean protein and my partner is lactose intolerant. Contrary to other reviews, we didn’t eat the same thing every day and we always found tasty options.   I did feel that the free drink options were lacking but it didn’t ruin my dining experience.

 

Dining Room - yes, tables are close, but we just treated our table for 2 as a table for 20 lol. I’ve been cruising for so long that sharing a table on a cruise is standard. There was not any dish that I hated and I never left the dining room hungry. Portions are small compared to American standards but I appreciated that because it made ordering appetizers, entree and dessert doable. If you want to order alcohol they have beer and wine easily available but if you want a cocktail, you may not get it until you are almost done with your entree bec they have to order from another bar. Our assistant waiter did advise everyone of this but some were still complaining. We just brought a cocktail to dinner with us, so it wasn’t an issue.

Bar Service - we did not have a drink package because I didn’t think we would drink enough to justify it based on the horrible reviews I had seen. Yes, bar lines were LONG. But if you are smart about it, you don’t have to wait long. The casino bar was always under utilized as well as the Sky Bar. The pub was loud and if you just walk by you might think the line was long but it never was when we ventured in. We did hear of bars running out of items but we always found something to drink. And since we didn’t have a package we were not stuck ordering specific drinks. 
 

Ocean Cay - bar and food lines were long, but I knew they would be so we ordered 2 drinks each when we first got settled in our spot. And grabbed food soon after the trucks opened. My one complaint was about the umbrella we rented, it didn’t have the lower half of the pool or the base that you could fill with sand to help it stand up. My partner took it back to complain and was told that they don’t come with anything else. I probably should have handled it myself because I would have asked for a different bag. There were dozens of full umbrellas across the beach but a handful of us had the shorty version. We figured out a way to prop it up but we could only get shade over one lounge this way. The beaches were gorgeous and I was able to see a few fish and a few rays even without snorkeling. 
 

Debarkation - I was not prepared for the long line down the length of deck 6 but it moved constantly and actually was one of the more organized debarkations I’ve ever experienced. I have no complaints here. 

 

[JT1962]

Glad you enjoyed it. I was on the Meraviglia in January of last year and have been on the Divina 3 times for a total of 26 days since October, and had a great experience each time.

I also don’t get the negative reviews about the food. In 33 days of sailing on MSC in the past year, I only had one item I did not care for - coconut tapioca pudding one night at dinner. I never experienced the same few items over and over in the dining room or at the buffet that many complain about. The breakfast items were generally the same every morning at the buffet, but there were well over 50 different items available. I can’t imagine what else anyone would want for breakfast that was not available. I think many just go to the same one or two stations in the buffet every time and don’t realize there are other options if they just went further towards the back.

 

I have come to the conclusion that many that complain about MSC are expecting a clone of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, etc. MSC has some differences for sure, but it’s not horrible as many report. And they currently have the best solo rates available.

Edited March 6, 2023 by JT1962

[ready2cruzagain]

Thank you for your honest review. I was on the Meraviglia last month and felt the same way as you. Were there problems, of course, what cruise line goes without having any problems. Were they drastic problems that ruined our cruise, NO.  Loved the Meraviglia and would sail on her again in a heartbeat.

[ready2cruzagain]

8 hours ago, JT1962 said:

I have come to the conclusion that many that complain about MSC are expecting a clone of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, etc. 

This ☝  I agree with you totally!!! 

[JamieLogical]

Posts like this really get me excited for my upcoming Meraviglia sailings in April. Thanks for all the info!

[TAWNILAMOUR]

First time on Meraviglia in a few weeks I have questions if you have time to answer that would be awesome!

1) We purchased the "Browse 2 Devices". Is the service decent on the private island, strong enough to face time?

2) We purchased the "Easy Plus Package" worried about your comment about them running out of things... can you elaborate please :)

3) Are beach chairs & umbrellas ONLY available by purchase? 

4) Any chance you guys used the "Thermal Area" Cruise Pass? Worth it?

5) I want to purchase the 3 specialty dining experience ... worth it?

6) Is there an itinerary of events that happen on the cruise? I can't find anything anywhere! Like theme nights etc?

7) How is the "nightlife" on the this cruise? Other than the magic show & concert... anything else going on?

8) Do they have couples massages on this cruise?

9) Can you swing hammocks on your balcony?

10) What excursions are the best on Nassau?

 

Thanks!

[Gatordad1967]

I have come to the conclusion that many that complain about MSC are expecting a clone of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, etc. MSC has some differences for sure, but it’s not horrible as many report

 

 

i have been on all the lines you mention  MSC is on par qith all of them.  In 4 weeks we are going on our 4th Meraviglia cruise.  Can't wait.  We are pretty much exclusive to MSC now.  

[shipgeeks]

"On a par with" is different from "clone of", right?  I agree that MSC is on a par with the others, but is definitely not a clone!  And for us, the differences are what make MSC special.

[Gatordad1967]

2 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

"On a par with" is different from "clone of", right?  I agree that MSC is on a par with the others, but is definitely not a clone!  And for us, the differences are what make MSC special.

No two lines are clones of each other.  They all have similarities and differences.  We prefer MSC, and will continue to be loyal.  However, the other lines have things we wish MSC had, like O' Shaughnessey's on NCL.  But that won't stop us from going on MSC.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

Posts like this really get me excited for my upcoming Meraviglia sailings in April. Thanks for all the info!

It’s a nice ship…

[mizLORInj]

Thanks for this review.   Looking at booking Meraviglia because we can drive to the port. . . and like to try out the various cruise lines for ourselves.   Finally something different coming to NY/NJ area!   

[travelingtink]

2 hours ago, TAWNILAMOUR said:

First time on Meraviglia in a few weeks I have questions if you have time to answer that would be awesome!

1) We purchased the "Browse 2 Devices". Is the service decent on the private island, strong enough to face time?

2) We purchased the "Easy Plus Package" worried about your comment about them running out of things... can you elaborate please 🙂

3) Are beach chairs & umbrellas ONLY available by purchase? 

4) Any chance you guys used the "Thermal Area" Cruise Pass? Worth it?

5) I want to purchase the 3 specialty dining experience ... worth it?

6) Is there an itinerary of events that happen on the cruise? I can't find anything anywhere! Like theme nights etc?

7) How is the "nightlife" on the this cruise? Other than the magic show & concert... anything else going on?

😎 Do they have couples massages on this cruise?

9) Can you swing hammocks on your balcony?

10) What excursions are the best on Nassau?

 

Thanks!

1 - We completely unplugged, so no WiFi for us. I did see instructions for connecting to a different hotspot while on the island but I can’t speak to usability.

 

2 - The bars would run out of certain beers, so people had to hunt down which bars had their choice. I heard that the pub ran out of Guinness, and Corona was hard to find. Certain brands of spirits would run out, sometimes the bartenders would substitute, other times you had to select a different drink. Lines were almost non existent. 
 

3 - the Lighthouse beach has umbrellas and a variety of chairs, lounged and beanbags, but all other beaches only have lounges and no umbrellas. 
 

4 - I used the Thermal spa because my gold status allows on hour. It was fantastic, best I’ve experienced on any ship. There are multiple whirlpools, saunas, showers and lounge areas. My favorite is always the heated stone lounges, but I also enjoyed the ones in the salt room. I don’t know the cost of a pass, but I would imagine it would be worth it.

 

5 - can’t help here, I never pay for upcharge restaurants, just not my thing when there is perfectly good food available in the main dining rooms

 

6 - On a 4 night, there is a White Night that a good portion of cruisers participates in, then a less casual Caribbean theme and a Sunshine, which was loosely at 70s/80s night. Longer cruises have more themes.

 

7 - Each evening had a dance party with the cruise staff around 10pm. Then there were several bars that had live music (jazz, reggae, soft rock) and a DJ playing at the Horizon pool (aft of the ship) late night, 

 

8/9 - Didn’t look at spa options and didn’t have a balcony 

 

10 - check out the Bahamas board in the Ports of Call section for excursion ideas, “best” will be different based on what you like to do. We booked an independent walking food tour and had a great time tasting many different local foods.

 

[Wedgie Wedgie]

I've done 4 cruises in the last 4 months. 3 on ncl (2 in haven) and just got off the Mera yesterday with a YC deluxe balcony.

 

My first time on MSC, platinum on NCL. It was also my first time sailing solo without my wife. I looked at this short 3 nighter as a chance to recon the line and determine whether to go forward with future cruises with them. 

 

First of all, going solo I was not interested in lengthy dining room experiences. I basically lived on morning pastries, espresso and then pizza (very good) and also lobster rolls both on and off the private island. I'm not nearly as big an eater as I used to be....I do like my cocktails though and never went without. There were two superstar bartenders in the YC and two who were still finding their way around.

 

I talked with the officer in charge of everything in the YC and he informed me that himself and upper mgt felt that with each cruise they were addressing hiccups and improving. I spoke with others who had also sailed on her previously and they agreed.

 

Huge plusses to me were a stocked mini bar daily with beer, diet cokes, oj. A bottle of Belvedere vodka complimentary. Spending the night on the private island was really cool especially with the lighthouse light show and beach party at night.

 

My room was great along with my butler and attendant. 

 

I did take a tour through the thermal spa where I watched people taking hot and cold showers through wet, glass doors. Okay...I'll skip this and go to the hottub in YC where the servers deliver drinks right in the tub.

 

The solo supplement was only 15% which I found to be a huge bargain!

 

Finally, I believe we'll try some more lines before heading back. I heard alot of complaining in the gen pop but I absolutely loved the Sky Bar and the jazz trio. Every night I walked in I was inundated with servers waiting to serve. You could look down through the windows to the pool area where they do karaoke on the giant screen. What a juxtaposition from the inside of the Sky Bar down to the pool!!!

[travelingtink]

Forgot to mention in my original post that we were Bella Inside, the lowest of the low hahaha. We didn’t even book Drinks and WiFi. No special perks for us, other than my Gold status. 
 

[Fla Mike]

Thanks...

[Gatordad1967]

Is Keith the Bar Manager still on Meraviglia?

 

[Buckeyefrank100]

4 hours ago, TAWNILAMOUR said:

First time on Meraviglia in a few weeks I have questions if you have time to answer that would be awesome!

1) We purchased the "Browse 2 Devices". Is the service decent on the private island, strong enough to face time?

2) We purchased the "Easy Plus Package" worried about your comment about them running out of things... can you elaborate please 🙂

3) Are beach chairs & umbrellas ONLY available by purchase? 

4) Any chance you guys used the "Thermal Area" Cruise Pass? Worth it?

5) I want to purchase the 3 specialty dining experience ... worth it?

6) Is there an itinerary of events that happen on the cruise? I can't find anything anywhere! Like theme nights etc?

7) How is the "nightlife" on the this cruise? Other than the magic show & concert... anything else going on?

😎 Do they have couples massages on this cruise?

9) Can you swing hammocks on your balcony?

10) What excursions are the best on Nassau?

 

Thanks!

I can answer a few of them.  The Easy Plus Package is what we had.  Beer was not available at all at the beer and wine bar on the last day.  In the pub, there wasn't very much on tap left.  On the island, beach chairs are available and free, I believe you have to pay for the umbrella though.

 

[Buckeyefrank100]

We had a great time, but the cruising portion for us was awful.  If I'm paying for a drink package I want to be able to get a drink and not have to wait 30 minutes, which I did a lot.  We were not assigned our dining option and were not allowed to switch.  We cannot eat at 8:30pm so we ate the only other available option, the buffet.  Admittedly I am a picky eater, but my wife is not.  There was not a good selection on the buffet and way too many food stations closed and pathways blocked.  There were WAY too many ingredients out of stock at bars.  They weren't restocking them.  If they ran out of something, they were out for the cruise.  The beer and wine bar had no beer on the last day.  That's just unacceptable.

[CruisingNole]

You know things are bad when you have to have a “strategy” to make things not quite as bad. This drink situation…I should just be able to walk up and grab a drink and not have to think about much else. The bar is so low, it’s sad.

Edited March 6, 2023 by CruisingNole

[TAWNILAMOUR]

23 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

You know things are bad when you have to have a “strategy” to make things not quite as bad. This drink situation…I should just be able to walk up and grab a drink and not have to think about much else. The bar is so low, it’s sad.

Can you please elaborate? I want to prepare my party lol we're drinkers...

[TAWNILAMOUR]

2 hours ago, travelingtink said:

1 - We completely unplugged, so no WiFi for us. I did see instructions for connecting to a different hotspot while on the island but I can’t speak to usability.

 

2 - The bars would run out of certain beers, so people had to hunt down which bars had their choice. I heard that the pub ran out of Guinness, and Corona was hard to find. Certain brands of spirits would run out, sometimes the bartenders would substitute, other times you had to select a different drink. Lines were almost non existent. 
 

3 - the Lighthouse beach has umbrellas and a variety of chairs, lounged and beanbags, but all other beaches only have lounges and no umbrellas. 
 

4 - I used the Thermal spa because my gold status allows on hour. It was fantastic, best I’ve experienced on any ship. There are multiple whirlpools, saunas, showers and lounge areas. My favorite is always the heated stone lounges, but I also enjoyed the ones in the salt room. I don’t know the cost of a pass, but I would imagine it would be worth it.

 

5 - can’t help here, I never pay for upcharge restaurants, just not my thing when there is perfectly good food available in the main dining rooms

 

6 - On a 4 night, there is a White Night that a good portion of cruisers participates in, then a less casual Caribbean theme and a Sunshine, which was loosely at 70s/80s night. Longer cruises have more themes.

 

7 - Each evening had a dance party with the cruise staff around 10pm. Then there were several bars that had live music (jazz, reggae, soft rock) and a DJ playing at the Horizon pool (aft of the ship) late night, 

 

8/9 - Didn’t look at spa options and didn’t have a balcony 

 

10 - check out the Bahamas board in the Ports of Call section for excursion ideas, “best” will be different based on what you like to do. We booked an independent walking food tour and had a great time tasting many different local foods.

 

Thank you!! No formal night on the 4 night cruise?

[TAWNILAMOUR]

57 minutes ago, Buckeyefrank100 said:

I can answer a few of them.  The Easy Plus Package is what we had.  Beer was not available at all at the beer and wine bar on the last day.  In the pub, there wasn't very much on tap left.  On the island, beach chairs are available and free, I believe you have to pay for the umbrella though.

 

Thank you!

[travelingtink]

20 hours ago, TAWNILAMOUR said:

Thank you!! No formal night on the 4 night cruise?

No, there is only a formal/gala night on 7 days or longer 

[travelingtink]

20 hours ago, TAWNILAMOUR said:

Can you please elaborate? I want to prepare my party lol we're drinkers...

Be prepared for long lines, or plan to walk to a farther away to a less busy bar. Also, some bars will run out of some drinks and if you are the type that wants a specific brand, you may have to hunt it down elsewhere. No issue for me, I just accepted a different brand but for others, it really upsets them. Do I think MSC should do better? Yes! Does it ruin my cruise? Not in the least.

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by travelingtink

[Morgsmom]

23 hours ago, Buckeyefrank100 said:

I can answer a few of them.  The Easy Plus Package is what we had.  Beer was not available at all at the beer and wine bar on the last day.  In the pub, there wasn't very much on tap left.  On the island, beach chairs are available and free, I believe you have to pay for the umbrella though.

 

What beer and wine bar on the Mera?  There's the British Pub, The Champagne Bar, etc, but I'm not aware of a beer & wine bar ...