JamieLogical's Live from the MSC Meraviglia 4/9 (semi-B2B)

[Laurab23]

I love reading your reviews. You do a great job.

 

Laura

[Terry in NJ]

Jamie, my daughter and I are sailing on the Seaside this coming Sunday the 30th. We are truly enjoying your review and appreciate you taking the time to post. Thank you!

 

We can’t wait to try some of your drinks too! Cheers!

[CruizinSusan70]

9 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Yesterday I was in no rush to get to MDR breakfast, so I took my time getting ready. I finally got the chocolate croissant I’d been missing the last two days with my room service breakfast. I had underlined the word “chocolate” on the room service card when I filled it out. Wonder if that helped?

 

I made my way up to the buffet and it wasn’t as crowded as the first breakfast I’d eaten there on this sailing. I was able to get a table outside on the aft of the ship again. Also, they had cottage cheese on both sides of the buffet this time! I just had some cottage cheese with jam, a couple of slices of provolone and swiss, and a hash brown.

 

After breakfast, I made my way down to Edge to read and have some mimosa blossoms. I had decided to go ahead and book the October 25 sailing that Ted is going on, so I stopped up at the future cruise desk after my first mimosa blossom. I had to wait in “line,” which was just the nearest table. There were two other ladies ahead of me and we had a great chat. They were both on their first MSC cruise and both loved it. It was nice to hear a couple of other people were having as great a cruise as I was. One of the ladies said she was on Celebrity recently and things have really gone downhill. It’s really sad that the other lines have had to make so many cuts to service and quality.

 

I booked my cruise. I got the last studio balcony for the sailing (there are only 4 on the ship), so I got a good deal. They are charging some solo supplement for regular balconies on that sailing now, so I don’t think I would have booked if I had to pay that.

 

I went back to Edge and read until lunch time. I had decided on Hola! for lunch and I was the first person there when they opened at 1:30. I had my “usual” and had a lovely conversation with a man seated next to me. I told him he should join us at the solo meet-up at Brass Anchor at 5:00.

 

After lunch, it was time for my nap, so I headed back to my room. I had resolved not to sleep as late as I had been, so I got up at 3:00 and saw a text from Ted that he was at Edge, so I went down for some coffee and then a mojito. I had also decided I needed to go to guest services and get a new room card printed so I would know which table I am assigned to for dinner. Turned out I was still assigned to the table with Joann in Panorama, so the situation at Waves the previous night did not get my table officially changed.

 

Eventually Ted, Ed (who had found us at Edge), and I headed up to Brass Anchor to see if anyone was there for the meet-up. Bella and Donna from my actual table were the only other solos when we arrived. Timothy, the gentleman from lunch at Hola! did show up as well.

 

Soon 6:00 was rolling around and I wanted to get a drink to take with me to dinner, so I headed over to the Champagne bar for a French 77. Joann had made it back onshore and Carol was already at the table when we got there, so it was all 5 of us again. I had the crab cake, the shrimp fra diavolo, and the dulce de leche. All were very good. The crab cake wasn’t as good as the one in Ocean Cay, but it was still very good.

 

As we were leaving the dining room, there was a gorgeous sunset happening, so we ran over to the aft windows and took some photos.

 

After dinner, I went down to the Meraviglia Lounge where Ocean Five was playing. It was white night and even though there wasn’t as much white as on the previous sailing, there ended up being quite a bit. The lounge was packed and everyone was dancing. Even I danced when they played “Surfin’ USA” and “Let’s Twist Again.” At one point, I had ordered a vodka sour and the waiter brought me two. I was sure he was trying to kill me.

 

Eventually Ted and Ed showed up after their 7:30 dinner. Lauren and Sean, the Canadian couple I had met on the first day in Brass Anchor showed up as well. I got a good picture of all 4 of them with one of our servers. We were having a grand time!

 

I had the good sense to go up and get some Liquid IV for my water and drank that, because at that point, things were getting pretty crazy.

 

At 10:15, we were supposed to have the white party up on deck. When we got up there, I spotted Jessica, the girl from Alberta I had met at the solo meet-up the second night. She is the one I told should try to get her dining time changed, because she was assigned 9:30, which is just ridiculous. She had done so, but she got assigned to my old table!!!! The original one with the people talking politics. I felt sooooo bad for her! I had her take a picture of my keycard so she could ask about getting assigned to my current table, so maybe I will see her tonight.

 

Shortly after the party started, it began raining and people fled under the shelter to either side of the pool. Jessica, Megan, and a new person we met, named Alex, decided we would just dance in the rain, so we did that until the whole party got moved downstairs to the galleria. We inspired a girl named Maddie to join us with our crazy rain dancing.

We danced some more downstairs until I got too hot and tired, then I went up to my room to get a hair tie. I texted Ted (who I had lost in the transition from outdoors to indoors) and he was down in the casino, so I went to join him there. I got a big glass of ice water from the bar and played slots for a long time. Even though I had thought everyone on the entire ship was at the white party with how crowded it was, the casino was also PACKED. At one point, every single machine in the non-smoking section had someone at it and I just had to wait for one to free up.

 

Ted came out way ahead for the evening. I came out way behind. But we had a good time. We then stopped by the bar for one more drink and went up to the buffet. Turns out that at 1:30-ish, there is nothing on the buffet except for pizza and that is NOT very good. They did at least have pepperoni, but it was the worst made pizza I have had so far on the ship.

 

Finally, it was off to bed where I filled out my room service card for 9:00am because it was so late.

 

Day's Drinks: Mimosa Blossom x3, Classic Margarita, Americano w/ Bailey's, Mojito, Vodka Sour, Hugo Spritz, French 77, Hugo Spritz, Vodka Sour x3, Bailey's Alexander 

Very impressive...14 drinks, the most so far on both cruises.

As a side note, what perk were you offered for booking on board for your October cruise?

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Very impressive...14 drinks, the most so far on both cruises.

As a side note, what perk were you offered for booking on board for your October cruise?

 

I got drinks and wifi included, extra OBC, a reduced deposit, and a price match guarantee in case the price drops between now and then.

[Vtesq]

Thanks for this, so much useful info. I discovered this last night and was up till 2am getting caught up.

 

When you were on the first cruise with your husband did you add a second device to the wifi package? If so do you know if it matters which passenger you added it for? The one that's included only shows up in cruise details (not already purchased) on the website and isn't assigned to either passenger. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Vtesq
Typo

[JamieLogical]

23 minutes ago, Vtesq said:

Thanks for this, so much useful info. I discovered this last night and was up till 2am getting caught up.

 

When you were on the first cruise with your husband did you add a second device to the wifi package? If so do you know if it matters which passenger you added it for? The one that's included only shows up in cruise details (not already purchased) on the website and isn't assigned to either passenger. 

 

For the first sailing, we had two devices, but both were under my name, so I just logged in on my husband's phone after creating an account on my phone and that worked for the whole cruise. On this sailing I also have two devices and and added my laptop as my second.

 

[AtSeaWithChris]

18 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

For the first sailing, we had two devices, but both were under my name, so I just logged in on my husband's phone after creating an account on my phone and that worked for the whole cruise. On this sailing I also have two devices and and added my laptop as my second.

 

I’m curious about that. We have 2 devices under my name. Are you talking about the MSC and Me app account or an account for the internet?  If it’s the MSC for Me app were you able to chat?

[gizfish]

Can you tell us about the soap,shampoo etc?  Is there liquid soap for the sink.  Is there bar soap for the shower.  Are we talking the usual big wall containers in the shower?  Thx!

[chipperberg]

Your blog and review are so well written and well done.  Thank you.   I am not booked until next March,  but I am really looking forward to it!  I have learned a lot from this review, like how I am going to end up in Hola! a lot.  HAHA.  

[JamieLogical]

12 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Very impressive...14 drinks, the most so far on both cruises.

As a side note, what perk were you offered for booking on board for your October cruise?

 

Forgot to mention you also get double loyalty points for bookings made onboard.

[JamieLogical]

8 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

I’m curious about that. We have 2 devices under my name. Are you talking about the MSC and Me app account or an account for the internet?  If it’s the MSC for Me app were you able to chat?

 

On the booking itself, there were two passengers listed. Under my name, wifi for two devices was listed as one of my booking perks. Under my husband's name, no wifi was listed. For our upcoming sailing in September, we each have wifi for one device listed as a booking perk. So, when each of us logged into the mscwifi site to set up our internet account for the sailing once onboard, using the internet ID provided on our keycard, he only had the option to buy a wifi package, not activate one. Whereas I had the option to activate my 2-device package. I just logged in with my internet ID on his phone and activated it as MY second device.

[JamieLogical]

6 hours ago, gizfish said:

Can you tell us about the soap,shampoo etc?  Is there liquid soap for the sink.  Is there bar soap for the shower.  Are we talking the usual big wall containers in the shower?  Thx!

 

In the shower there is only liquid shampoo and body wash. No conditioner. I have only used the body wash, so can't tell you about the quality of the shampoo. By the sink there is a built in pump for liquid hand soap.

 

You can see them in these pictures:

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by JamieLogical

[BeeeJay]

On 4/4/2023 at 11:00 PM, KKB said:

I’m ALL about seafood when cruising!

And MSC pizza has ruined all other pizza for me…

 

Wow you really upped the cruising post-Covid!  Is the Pizza as good as Valentino's? 😉

[JamieLogical]

Yesterday, despite the late night previous, I work up well before my 9:00am scheduled room service arrived. Fortunately, it came early (about 8:45), so I didn’t have to wait too long before getting my coffee. I got a chocolate croissant for the second time, so the underlining must be working!

 

I typed up my blog and had to deal with some work stuff before I could shower and dress. I was aiming to be off the ship in Ocean Cay at 10:30 because that was the ONLY information I had about Cheree and the cabana she had rented for us. I had tried to get Ted and Ed to get some details when they had dinner with her the night before, but there seemed to only be confusion.

 

I had decided I would skip breakfast and get straight into my beachwear, after my shower. I then spent a good 20+ minutes applying sunscreen to my entire body. What you need to know about me is that I *hate* the beach. I like the ocean, but I hate the sun and I hate sand. So I was way out of my comfort zone on this one.

 

I got off the ship and started walking around Ocean Cay. It is very very beautiful and I am sorry I don’t have pictures for you. I was so focused on figuring out how to meet up with Cheree and the others that I didn’t take time for photos. I also only really futzed with my phone to try to get on the island’s wifi.

 

First I looked at a map to try to see if the cabana area was listed there. Not much was actually labeled on the map. Then I went into one of the shops and asked for directions. I got directions and it was quite a long walk. I began to understand why there are “transportation stations” and shuttle around. I got over to the beach that has the cabanas (South Beach) and realized this was a lost cause. I had it in my head that the cabanas would all be in one place, close together. That was not how it was arranged at all. The cabanas were evenly space, VERY far apart, all the way around the lagoon, so there was no way I was going to be able to check them all.

 

At that point, I decided I was going to walk back to a nice bar I saw by the ship that had shade and alcohol and await further instructions. However, about halfway back to the ship, Debbie, Betty, Emily and Cheree passed me going the other way. It was very lucky, because somehow there were 100000 people on the island despite there only being a little over 4000 on the ship. I mean it. I could not believe how many people were on the island. It felt like being at Disney World.

 

So, we all walked back to the cabana area I had just come from and found the cabana welcome desk. Cheree got us checked in and was assigned Cabana #30, which was fortunately not very far away. I would have cried if we were assigned one of the ones on the complete other side of the lagoon and had to walk all the way around. I was so hot and tired of the sun already by this point.

 

As we approached our cabana, we spotted a backpack sitting on the table inside. As we rounded the corner, it was much worse than it originally appeared. The couches were all covered with bags and clothes and hats and towels and the floor was covered with flip flops and sandals. One, lone, old Chinese lady was sitting on the couch in the shade. We tried explaining to her that this was our cabana that we had paid for, but it was clear she either didn’t speak English or was choosing not to understand us. Since there were two Reserved signs posted on the cabana, I guess the rest of her family didn’t speak English either. Eventually, she got the hint that we wanted her out of there, but she kept pointing to the water to indicate her entire family was out there.

 

We told her she needed to go out there to call them back so they could clear out their stuff, but she would not leave the confines of the concrete floor of the cabana, because she didn’t want to walk in the sand. I don’t blame her… she was wearing velvet ballet flats and panty hose! Very appropriate beach attire. She did try to wave her arms in the general direction of the water to get her family’s attention. Fortunately, one of the MSC employees soon arrived. He was supposed to have been delivering us those floating lounge mats, as we were supposed to get two of them with the cabana rental, but the welcome desk had been out of them.

 

He quickly took control of the situation and soon the rest of the family was out of the water. He wouldn’t let them step into the cabana with their wet feet, so he was handing them things. Initially, they were trying to just set up on the loungers right outside the cabana, but those were ours too. The lady inside the cabana was taking her sweet time literally handing her family items one at a time. Literally, one flip flop or one baseball cap at a time.

 

Once they were out, the MSC employee went and fetched a broom and swept out the sand for us. Phew! We could finally relax. We asked him where the nearest bar was and it turned out we were sort of equidistant between two bars, so neither one was very close. I offered to go pick up the first round and the MSC guy said he would drive me in his golf cart! That was super nice! We got to the bar and I told him thanks and to have a nice day and he said oh no no, he would wait for me and drive me back! How awesome was that?!?

 

Finally settled into the cabana with some drinks, the next challenge was communicating to Ted where we were. The wifi signal inside the cabana was pretty bad so my texts weren’t going through right away. I managed to tell him we were in Cabana #30, but he couldn’t figure out where the cabanas even were. He at least got someone to help him get on the island’s wifi so he was receiving my texts. Eventually I was trying to get him to go back to the buffet, which he had passed at one point, because it was close to the cabana and I thought it would be easy for him to find. I went up there to wait for him and kept looking all around for him, but it was a madhouse at that point because it was lunch time.

 

He texted me that he was “by the bathrooms and the showers,” which was less than helpful because there are bathrooms and showers all over (a very nice feature of the island). I finally spotted him right as he had finally spotted Cabana #30, so we both just ended up at the cabana at the same time.

 

After that, it was time for another round of drinks and some more water. Several bottles of water came in a cooler inside the cabana, but we were down to just two left, so we planned to restock. Cheree and I set off to acquire liquids. The bar was slammed and it turned out they were out of both water and ginger ale. We made due with what we could get. I got Debbie and myself a glass of Bacardi that had once glanced at a can of Sprite and Cheree got herself a Jameson and Coke instead of her usual Jameson and ginger ale.

 

By the time we got back, I was ready to cool off in the shade. Cheree and Debbie went off to acquire hot dogs for the group from one of the food trucks. None of us wanted to stand in the hours-long lines at the buffet. The food trucks had almost no lines at all.

 

Fed and happy, we relaxed and chatted for a long time. Then we decided it was finally time to get in the water. I ran to the restroom one last time before getting my bathing suit wet and making restroom usage much less fun and I noticed there were drinking fountains by the restroom, so I brought my water bottle up there and just refilled it, since our quest for water had failed earlier.

 

We got to the water and it was COLD. I was not prepared for how cold it would be, but it did feel nice after all the heat and sun. Once I was fully in, it wasn’t too bad. Debbie, Cheree, and I stayed out in the water for a good long while. It was very pleasant. At some point, we started talking about how Ted wants his ashes spread at this place he wants to take me to in Cozumel on our October cruise. And then we started talking about what all of us want done with our remains when we die. This was a very odd conversation to be having on a beautiful beach day while standing in the ocean. But what was even odder was when a woman who overheard us decided to join in on the conversation! Definitely a weird, but pleasant time.

 

Once we got out of the water, Betty was back from her adventuring and Emily had gone back to the ship. We hung out and chatted while we air dried. Around 4:00, Betty, Ted, and I decided it was time to go back to the ship. So we cleaned up as best we could and walked back.

 

There was a decent line to get back on the ship at this point. I was just happy to be back in the air conditioning! I went straight up to my room and showered to get all the sand and sunscreen off of me. I had managed to get sunburned, despite my best efforts. Oh well. It was all worth it as it had been a very nice time, overall.

 

Clean and refreshed, I headed down to Edge for some coffee. Ted and Ed were already there, so I joined them. Eventually Megan joined us and told us the tail of her snorkeling attempts. Then Joann found us and told us about her frustrations over the time conflicts between the dome show, her dinner, the main theater show and the lighthouse show. I decided I had had enough social interaction for the moment and headed up to the champagne bar for a little quiet and to call my husband. Then I headed off for a solo dinner in Hola!

 

I didn’t have a reservation, but I asked if they could squeeze me in. They told me they didn’t have anything until 8:00 (this was ~6:20), but then Henry spotted me and told me “5 minutes.” I was quickly seated and Henry was my server. He finally got to show me pictures of the magnets I had bought him in NYC on the wall of his cabin with the rest of his collection. He also showed me a picture of his adorable girlfriend who I learned works in housekeeping on the ship. I also found out he will still be onboard for my September sailing, so I promised to come back and visit him. On my way out, he wanted to take a picture of me in case I don’t make it back in there this cruise.

 

Feeling rejuvenated by my tacos and solitude, I came back by Edge where Debbie, Betty, and Cheree spotted me. They were about to head to their 7:30 dinner in Waves and wanted me to join them, despite having just eaten. This sounded like a great idea, so I went and sat with them through their dinner, only ordering some Prosecco. Debbie ordered me some key lime pie, which I did, miraculously, have a bit of room for by the time it came out.

 

Dinner was lovely and I got to meet the new addition to the table, a woman named Elise who was somehow not scared off by our merry band of misfits. She had been assigned to the table the previous day, so the others had all met her the night before.

 

For once, we had a full table of 8! Ed, Ted, Cheree, Debbie, Betty, Elise, Gia, and myself. Debbie ordered the rum cake for herself for dessert and that became a huge hit, as it was the most rum-soaked cake any of us had ever tasted. You literally could not taste any cake or chocolate. It was pure rum.

 

We stayed until our waiter was getting anxious about the next seating and then all headed to Edge for more drinks. We hung out there until it was time for Karaoke at 10:00, which we had all decided to attend. I can’t believe it was my first time at Karaoke on this ship! It was in the TV Studio Lounge and was hugely popular. We met a great server named Marky who was WAY too much fun. He made us some “mojitos with extra love.” They may have actually contained more rum than the rum cake.

 

We had a great time and harassed a poor kid who had the misfortune of being the only person seated on one of the couches in the back when all 8 of us squeezed in next to him. His name was Jordan and he had signed up to sing Life on Mars. We cheered him on and we must not have terrified him too much because he followed us out into the hall on deck 7 where we all rocked out to Ocean Five singing Bohemian Rhapsody in the Meraviglia lounge below us and then up to the Sky Lounge.

 

After some drinks in the Sky Lounge, most we all sort of went our separate ways. Debbie, Gia, Jordan and I went to the buffet for some pizza. It was better than the night before for late night pizza. I finally made it to bed around 1:30.

 

We’re working on recruiting more people to come on the October 25 Meraviglia sailing with Ted and me. Ed is booked on an NCL cruise out of New Orleans, but we are convincing him to cancel that and come with us. Debbie is almost certainly in. Cheree is going to try to make it work with her schedule and her friend who she was supposed to be on a different cruise with, but had to cancel.

 

We really had such a great time last night. I can’t believe we didn’t scare off Elise and Jordan. Really looking forward to more Karaoke tonight!

 

Day’s Drinks: Mojito, Bacardi & Sprite, Americano w/ Bailey's, Mojito, French 77 X2, Classic Margarita, Prosecco, Rum Cake, Vodka Sour, Triple French 77, Mojito w/ "Extra Love", Hugo Spritz
 

[JamieLogical]

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by JamieLogical

[KKB]

49 minutes ago, BeeeJay said:

 

Wow you really upped the cruising post-Covid!  Is the Pizza as good as Valentino's? 😉

WAAAY better. 

More NYC style thin crust.

 

[KKB]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

In the shower there is only liquid shampoo and body wash. No conditioner. I have only used the body wash, so can't tell you about the quality of the shampoo. By the sink there is a built in pump for liquid hand soap.

 

You can see them in these pictures:

 

My memory escapes me...no lotion?

(on Preziosa in 10 days, carry on only to Hamburg...gotta plan my liquid toiletries carefully!)

[Homosassa]

7 minutes ago, KKB said:

WAAAY better. 

More NYC style thin crust.

 

NYC style is Neapolitan pizza.

 

MSC's pizza meets the standards of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.  

 

[BeeeJay]

14 minutes ago, KKB said:

WAAAY better. 

More NYC style thin crust.

 

 

but no way the Runza's are better lol. 

 

I have a couple upcoming Lincoln trips & MSC cruises to test both pizzas out!

[KKB]

1 minute ago, BeeeJay said:

 

but no way the Runza's are better lol. 

 

I have a couple upcoming Lincoln trips & MSC cruises to test both pizzas out!

Unless it's a German grandmother's runza, I agree.

[JamieLogical]

28 minutes ago, KKB said:

My memory escapes me...no lotion?

(on Preziosa in 10 days, carry on only to Hamburg...gotta plan my liquid toiletries carefully!)

 

No lotion in my Aurea Suite last sailing or my Fantastica balcony on this one.

[cruisebeachgirl703]

6 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

 

 

We will be onboard July 9th. Really looking forward to the private island. Great story about the guy and the golf cart. and we will try Hola because of your review and pics. Thanks Jamie.

[chipperberg]

Hi!  Rochester girl here too!  Was wondering if you could use the drink package upon boarding in NY?  Thanks!  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[EllieinNJ]

About the cabanas, the description says for six but the picture only shows two lounge chairs.  If three couples share a cabana is there enough lounges and seating inside for all?

[cruzlover]

Quick question.  We are on the next sailing. Our cabin is on the port side almost directly above yours. Can you see the Statue of Liberty from your balcony or would you have to go up on deck. Weather doesn’t look very promising for sail away. 

 

Thanks so much. Awesome reporting!

Edited April 28, 2023 by cruzlover