Just off Meraviglia May 21-May 28 any questions?

[Mira28]

Hi, 

Thanks for the great review. I'm wondering, how much of a hassle was it to get to the Brooklyn port? Did you drive or take other transportation? Did you happen to notice if there were a lot of cabs on disembarkation morning? I'm used to sailing out of Manhattan, but wonder about the feasibility of getting to and from the Brooklyn port.

 

[smokeykat]

On 5/31/2023 at 11:27 AM, RexC said:

How full was the ship? Curious if the New York cruises are fully booked and well staffed. 

We asked and was told the ship was close to full capacity.

Funny thing is the ship never felt crowded anywhere!

[smokeykat]

23 hours ago, Mira28 said:

Hi, 

Thanks for the great review. I'm wondering, how much of a hassle was it to get to the Brooklyn port? Did you drive or take other transportation? Did you happen to notice if there were a lot of cabs on disembarkation morning? I'm used to sailing out of Manhattan, but wonder about the feasibility of getting to and from the Brooklyn port.

 

Surprisingly the Brooklyn port was no problem for us. We were coming from Long Island and usually we drive to NJ for RCCL and park our car there but I was hesitant not knowing what to expect the first time in Brooklyn. We used a car service and it took us about 40 minutes to get there. Plenty of parking is available and the lot was not even full as I was able to see the lot from my cabin balcony.

When you first pull into the port area there is a car pick up area under the blue awning on the right side. Continue around and there are plenty of cabs waiting in the middle section for passengers. Continue past that and there is the luggage drop off and then the terminal. Keep going and there are signs directing you to parking.

We went out of Manhattan on NCL and to me the car service pick up was a pain because we had to leave the terminal, cross the street and walk a few blocks to where the car was able to pick us up from.

Brooklyn was easier.

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by smokeykat

[jerseyralph]

Great information.  Thank you.  We will be getting on the Meraviglia on 6/18.  We are seasoned cruisers on the usual suspects (NCL, Carnival, RC) and we are eager to see how MSC stacks up. 

[Mira28]

1 hour ago, smokeykat said:

Surprisingly the Brooklyn port was no problem for us. We were coming from Long Island and usually we drive to NJ for RCCL and park our car there but I was hesitant not knowing what to expect the first time in Brooklyn. We used a car service and it took us about 40 minutes to get there. Plenty of parking is available and the lot was not even full as I was able to see the lot from my cabin balcony.

When you first pull into the port area there is a car pick up area under the blue awning on the right side. Continue around and there are plenty of cabs waiting in the middle section for passengers. Continue past that and there is the luggage drop off and then the terminal. Keep going and there are signs directing you to parking.

We went out of Manhattan on NCL and to me the car service pick up was a pain because we had to leave the terminal, cross the street and walk a few blocks to where the car was able to pick us up from.

Brooklyn was easier.

 

Thank you! Very helpful information. It sounds doable! 🙂

[Cruz_Life]

Thank you for all the great info! First time cruiser so it is great to hear how much you enjoyed it. I’d love to ask a couple more questions:

 

1. Was the soft serve ice cream by the main pool free even if you don’t have any drink packages?
 

2. Did you get the internet streaming package? If so, were you able to stream videos on YouTube or Netflix?

Edited June 4, 2023 by Cruz_Life

[smokeykat]

13 hours ago, Cruz_Life said:

Thank you for all the great info! First time cruiser so it is great to hear how much you enjoyed it. I’d love to ask a couple more questions:

 

1. Was the soft serve ice cream by the main pool free even if you don’t have any drink packages?
 

2. Did you get the internet streaming package? If so, were you able to stream videos on YouTube or Netflix?

You do not need a drink package to get the soft serve at the pool. Just walk up to the counter and tell them what you want. Chocolate, Vanilla, Twist with both, rainbow sprinkles or chocolate sprinkles 🙂

 

We did not upgrade to the streaming package. The wifi worked great for emails, texting back home and our apps.

[Crown Vic]

On 5/31/2023 at 4:25 PM, Mira28 said:

Hi, 

Thanks for the great review. I'm wondering, how much of a hassle was it to get to the Brooklyn port? Did you drive or take other transportation? Did you happen to notice if there were a lot of cabs on disembarkation morning? I'm used to sailing out of Manhattan, but wonder about the feasibility of getting to and from the Brooklyn port.

 

Just off the Meraviglia. Really enjoyable.

Uber to the port from Brooklyn. Lotsa traffic so slow but steady.
On the return this morning, took the ferry from Red Hook to DUMBO, another ferry to North Williamsburg and then Uber. Easy peasy!

Taking a ferry to the ship would have been faster and less expensive…plus…you get another ‘cruise’.

Cheers!

[Mira28]

52 minutes ago, Crown Vic said:

Just off the Meraviglia. Really enjoyable.

Uber to the port from Brooklyn. Lotsa traffic so slow but steady.
On the return this morning, took the ferry from Red Hook to DUMBO, another ferry to North Williamsburg and then Uber. Easy peasy!

Taking a ferry to the ship would have been faster and less expensive…plus…you get another ‘cruise’.

Cheers!

 Thanks for this! Yes, the ferries sound good. I'd be coming from Manhattan, but I think that's also pretty easy to and from Red Hook. Sounds like you had a great cruise!

[Crown Vic]

13 minutes ago, Mira28 said:

 Thanks for this! Yes, the ferries sound good. I'd be coming from Manhattan, but I think that's also pretty easy to and from Red Hook. Sounds like you had a great cruise!

As the ship was late arriving on May 28, the traffic in and out of the port area was very heavy but moving slowly. Getting through Security took about one hour.  After that, boarding was by number but we were in the first coupla groups. 4,600 passengers on our cruise. Three dining times…5.30, 7.30 and 9.30. Enjoy.

Cheers…

[magnetique]

Can you post a picture of the disembarking info sheet? I would like to know if the nyc excursion+shuttle to JFK leaves early or late.

[Greygooser]

17 hours ago, Mira28 said:

 Thanks for this! Yes, the ferries sound good. I'd be coming from Manhattan, but I think that's also pretty easy to and from Red Hook. Sounds like you had a great cruise!

I'm also coming from Manhattan. Uber/Lyft or taxi seem like the way to go.

[Brighton Line]

May 28th sailing they even stopped processing at the Metal Detectors, even the poor Yacht Club had to wait but they were first to pass through when processing started. It was just too crowded in the terminal due to the late start.

May 28th had 4,700 pax and 211 of that in the sold-out Yacht Club per the YC Director.  Don't forget the 1,600 crew. 

 

June 4th debarkation the lineup for self-assist was long.  You start lining up on Deck 6 for the Deck 5 gangway but ship security used a portable scanner to scan cards of everyone in the line so once permission was given the line moved quickly without having to stop at the gangway for card scanning. Of course you had the pax who still owed money that would slow the line as they were sent to customer service or one of the terminals to add money/credit card to the account.

 

Customs for US citizens was face scanning run by port personnel. If you failed face recognition you were directed to a CBP officer with your documents. 

[CruizinSusan70]

Describe the two paid carousel shows and was one better than the other?

[smokeykat]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Describe the two paid carousel shows and was one better than the other?

The 2 paid Carousel shows are really good. We enjoyed them both. I purchased the tickets for $12 per person before the cruise. Once onboard we made reservations easily when we went to reserve our specialty dinners.

Both shows have great dancing and the singers. Houdini is about the magician and Rock Circus is well rock music. The same actors/singers/dancers are in both shows. Anywhere you sit is good in the theater as the stage is in the round. You can't go wrong with either show if picking just one.

[JamieLogical]

I am glad you had such a great cruise! Your experience mirrors mine on the Meraviglia in April. I came back from the cruise wondering why so many people give MSC negative reviews. We had fantastic food and service the whole time. The ship was beautiful and rarely felt crowded. The staff were the BEST! Can't wait to be back onboard in September!

[febtober]

On 6/1/2023 at 4:16 PM, smokeykat said:

Surprisingly the Brooklyn port was no problem for us. We were coming from Long Island and usually we drive to NJ for RCCL and park our car there but I was hesitant not knowing what to expect the first time in Brooklyn. We used a car service and it took us about 40 minutes to get there. Plenty of parking is available and the lot was not even full as I was able to see the lot from my cabin balcony.

 

 

 Good to know.  I'll be coming from Nassau County.  At first I was going to take LIRR then uber from there to save a few bucks, then I realized that was actually more expensive than just fully ubering door to door from my house to the pier.  

[smokeykat]

On 6/12/2023 at 10:05 AM, febtober said:

 Good to know.  I'll be coming from Nassau County.  At first I was going to take LIRR then uber from there to save a few bucks, then I realized that was actually more expensive than just fully ubering door to door from my house to the pier.  

We used Dial 7 they were great ☺️ We have used them from Suffolk County many times.

Edited June 13, 2023 by smokeykat