Review of MSC Meraviglia ... hmmm...got me thinkin' !!!

[princevaliantus]

Thought you guys might be interested in this from a buddy on another board:

Review of MSC Meraviglia

I just completed 12 days (two back to back sailings) in the Caribbean on the MSC Meraviglia. I cruise alot and I wanted to sail on MSC to have a first-hand experience. I've read alot of negative MSC reviews, and I will tell you up front: I had a positive overall experience.

There were problems with embarkation, which I expected, as there are typically problems and delays anytime a ship is in port for the first time.

Once onboard, the ship is absolutely beautiful. Bling everywhere. The champagne bar is sparkly. The Swarovski staircases are absolutely spectacular. Many photos were taken on the stairs, including a marriage proposal.

Meraviglia has a central promenade that is apparently longer than a US football field. There is an LED sky screen that projects changing images throughout the cruise. They do a dome show every night, with a different theme and Ip looked forward to seeing it every night. (The times are listed in the daily planner.)

My balcony stateroom felt much larger than those I've had on other cruise lines. I had an obstructed view balcony, but the lifeboat obstruction was set low, so I could look right over it.

Entertainment:

Many of the shows were fantastic! According to MSC, they are the only cruise line to offer opera in the theater. I saw "Come il Mare", an abridged version of La Boheme. It was an excellent show.

"Born to Rock" is another great show, featuring songs from the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Tina Turner, and others.

There are two different Cirque du Soleil shows. I saw both. I preferred the Viaggio show to the Sonor show. Viaggio seemed to have a more cohesive storyline. The Cirque theater is amazing. You can purchase the cocktail package ($18 for a pre-made cocktail and the show) or you can buy the dinner package. (I don't know the price for that, as I bought the cocktail package.)

Other shows I saw in the theater:

Paz. Flamenco dancing, with the theme of peace and the art of Picasso.

Way. The music that makes you happy.

Life is Magic. Magician

One Day More. A compilation of a variety of Broadway shows, including West Side Story, Chicago, Phantom of the Opera, Oklahoma and Les Miserables.

Meraviglioso Amor. Songs of love.

Master Chef at Sea. There are ten food-related questions and passengers compete. The top six people who get the most correct answers get to participate in the competition. They have ten minutes to prepare a dish from the mystery box.

Outside the theater:

Dance classes:
Foxtrot, Charleston, Paso Doble, Arrocha, Tarantella, jive, rock 'n roll, disco, waltz, country, merengue, rueda de casino, and Latino (salsa, samba, flamenco). Plus a dance contest.

Evening parties:
*60's/70's/80's party
*Gatsby party
*Tropical (Caribbean theme)
*Retro
*White

Fitness center:
The fitness center is well-equipped. As is usually the case, the place was packed on our first at sea day, then wide open on other days.

Fitness classes:

*Complimentary
Morning stretch
Abs

*For a fee ($13 per class):
Yoga
Bodybuilding
Group cycling
Cardio boxing
Pilates

Spa:
The spa is absolutely fantastic. There are a number of different "stations" in the thermal area, including: steam rooms, dry saunas, an ice room, a salt room, whirlpools, relaxation areas, and heated beds.

Food and drinks:

The Marketplace Buffett has quite a variety of food stations: Many different food stations:

*Family and Kids (good mac 'n cheese)
*Salad
*Soup and pasta
*Grill
*Fruit and Vegetable
*Cold cuts and cheese (the fresh mozzarella is delicious!)
*Ethnic
*Mediterranean Corner
*Rotisserie
*Pizza (really good)
*Dessert

There is also a Marketplace Bar in the buffet area.

Outside, near the pool, you can grab snacks like pizza, burgers, fries, etc. But the highlight is the ice cream. The ice cream is so good that I just had to ask the name of the brand. (It's San Bernardo.) They also serve gelato-style, which is a different brand and equally good. (If you see the dark chocolate, order a double. It's the best I've ever had!) When they run out of one flavor, they open another flavor, so the variety is constantly changing.

The specialty restaurants were really good. I purchased the specialty dining package available on board: Tryptic: 3 meals (Butcher's Cut, Ocean Cay and Kaito Sushi Bar) for $100 per person.

Ocean Cay is their seafood restaurant. They serve tuna, salmon, sea bass, crab, clams, and more. The seafood appetizer for two is a photo op! They pushed a cart with fresh oysters around the restaurant. You could purchase six oysters for $15. I don't care for raw oysters, but my friends love oysters and said they were delicious.

The Butcher's Cut Steak House was excellent. They have various cuts of meat in a glass-fronted meat-aging fridge and you can select which one you want to dine on that evening. The lamb chops were outstanding.

I also dined at the Kaito Sushi Bar. I sat outside, looking at the promenade, which provided great seats for the nightly dome show.

The Teppanyaki was a ton of fun. Similar to Benihana, the chef prepares the food in front of you and it's quite a show. The amount of food is significant. You will not leave feeling hungry.

I did not get to try the HOLA! Tapas Bar.

The chef's pasta-making class isn't really making pasta. The pasta is already made. The chef shows you how to make sauce. But, for $29, you get a glass of wine and a really good pasta dish. It lasted about 45 minutes.

If you're a foodie, you may want to try the Chef's Table. I was told that the chef from the Ocean Cay restaurant puts together a 7-course meal, which includes a pairing of seven wines selected by the sommelier. It's $120 per person.

I upgraded my basic drink package to the Premium package because the drink limit on the Easy package is $6. With the Premium package, you can select drinks up to $12, which included alot more options. One of the highlights of the Premium package is that it includes all of the freshly made juice drinks as well as the bottled juices. I spent alot of time at the Bamboo pool and the bar there has the juicer to make the fresh juices.

Internet packages:

I pre-booked. I paid $51.90 for 2 GB (2000 MB) wifi for November 10-17, 2019 and I paid $34.90 for 1 GB of data for November 17-21, 2019. I didn't have any issues with using the internet.

Once on board:
*Premium package. $149.99. 4 devices. 6500 MB (shared). The ad states: Full internet access to check your email, browse the web, chat on the popular social networks, and stream your favorite videos.

*Standard. $99.99. 2 devices. 3000 MB (shared). The ad states: Ideal for limited internet usage. With this package, you can access all social networks and chat apps, check email and browse the web.

*Unlimited. $199.99. 1 device.

*Social. $69.99. 1 device. 1500 MB. Chat apps only. No audio or video calls.

MSC Meraviglia Dress Code

As stated on an MSC review page:

Daytime: During the daytime it's casual, with people wandering around in just swim suits and flip-flops.

Evening: In the evening it's dressier, but more smart casual than formal, except for the two "elegant" (not formal) nights per cruise. A jacket for the men and a dress for the ladies would not go amiss, but it's not strictly enforced. A suit or tux or ball gown are not necessary, though on the meet-the-captain night, people go all-out.

Not permitted: T-shirts and shorts are not allowed in the ships' public areas in the evenings. No swimwear is allowed in main dining rooms. Jeans are not allowed in the dining room on elegant nights.

My experience: Apparently the dress code is only intermittently enforced. We saw lots of people in shorts and t-shirts in public areas in the evenings. However, flip flops were not allowed in the main dining rooms at dinner.

Miscellaneous:

The "special" laundry service package is $35, for a max of 20 items per cabin. (You should receive this offer on/around day 3 or 4.) (On other cruise lines, the cost for this package is $19.99.)

On at sea days, I was easily able to find chairs at the pool. Bar service was good, as staff constantly walked around the pool taking orders. They also push a cart around with basic drinks, beer and wine.

For kids, the aqua park area is lots of fun. In addition to all of the water features for kids, there are two big waterslides, which are fun for adults, too. There is also an arcade area for kids, virtual reality games, a 4D movie theater, bowling, a sports court, and lots of other things.

There is also children's playroom, Baby Club, Mini & Juniors, Young & Teens Club, and Lego Family Fun area.

I am a non-smoker and I had heard about smoking being a problem on MSC. I didn't find it to be a problem at all. I actually had to seek out the areas where the smokers are located just so that I could find them and know where they were located. If you simply avoid those areas (as I did), then you shouldn't be affected.

If you like dressing up for theme nights, bring:
* A formal outfit for Elegant Night
* A white outfit for White Night

You can apply with MSC to status match to your existing elite status on another cruise line or hotel. I applied using my Platinum status with NCL and received Gold status with MSC. This is a very nice benefit because you get priority disembarkation when tendering. (You also get some other benefits, but the most beneficial to me was the priority disembarkation ticket.)

Important note: When I applied, I was not aware that I could have used my hotel elite status to request a status match. I am Diamond with Hilton and I believe that would have matched to Black with MSC.

The only big disappointment was that their private island isn't open yet. (I was really looking forward to seeing it.) So, they provided compensation of $100 per cabin shipboard credit and a future cruise credit (20% of the price you paid for the cruise fare). Instead, we stopped in Cozumel for the day, which I loved.

There are payment machines in a variety of places on decks 5 & 6. Payment options: credit card, debit card, or cash. I highly recommend that you use one of the machines to set up your payment for your onboard purchases. Otherwise, you will have to stand in line at the front desk and the lines were sometimes very long.

Other issues:

They didn't tell us about the closure of their private island and the itinerary change until we were on board. It would have been nice to know in advance so that I could have scheduled an excursion in Cozumel. Instead, I had to book one of the excursions provided by MSC on board (which is probably why they didn't tell us beforehand).

There is no ATM on the ship, so be prepared.

The power plugs in the public areas are European. So if you're planning to plug in outside of your room, then be sure to bring an adapter.

Oh, and they ran out of blueberries and mint on day two. But that situation was quickly remedied by day three.

Summary:

I had a positive experience overall and I will definitely sail with MSC again.

[Andrew72681]

We head out on her on Sunday. Hoping for a fun time. I was lucky enough to eschew my lowly cruise line status and use my hotel statuses to get Diamond (which was called black till a few weeks ago)

[princevaliantus]

1 hour ago, Andrew72681 said:

We head out on her on Sunday. Hoping for a fun time. I was lucky enough to eschew my lowly cruise line status and use my hotel statuses to get Diamond (which was called black till a few weeks ago)

MSC changed the status match?

[Andrew72681]

1 hour ago, princevaliantus said:

MSC changed the status match?

The rumor is that they no longer match to Diamond/Black no matter what status you have with someone else. They also don’t seem to grasps some of the hotel statuses levels and what they mean. Marriott Titanium (75nights per year) only gets you silver, but Hilton Diamond (which can be done in 30 stays) matched to Diamond on MSC. 

[Andrew72681]

On 11/22/2019 at 4:17 PM, princevaliantus said:

Thought you guys might be interested in this from a buddy on another board:

Review of MSC Meraviglia

I just completed 12 days (two back to back sailings) in the Caribbean on the MSC Meraviglia. I cruise alot and I wanted to sail on MSC to have a first-hand experience. I've read alot of negative MSC reviews, and I will tell you up front: I had a positive overall experience.

There were problems with embarkation, which I expected, as there are typically problems and delays anytime a ship is in port for the first time.

Once onboard, the ship is absolutely beautiful. Bling everywhere. The champagne bar is sparkly. The Swarovski staircases are absolutely spectacular. Many photos were taken on the stairs, including a marriage proposal.

Meraviglia has a central promenade that is apparently longer than a US football field. There is an LED sky screen that projects changing images throughout the cruise. They do a dome show every night, with a different theme and Ip looked forward to seeing it every night. (The times are listed in the daily planner.)

My balcony stateroom felt much larger than those I've had on other cruise lines. I had an obstructed view balcony, but the lifeboat obstruction was set low, so I could look right over it.

Entertainment:

Many of the shows were fantastic! According to MSC, they are the only cruise line to offer opera in the theater. I saw "Come il Mare", an abridged version of La Boheme. It was an excellent show.

"Born to Rock" is another great show, featuring songs from the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen, Tina Turner, and others.

There are two different Cirque du Soleil shows. I saw both. I preferred the Viaggio show to the Sonor show. Viaggio seemed to have a more cohesive storyline. The Cirque theater is amazing. You can purchase the cocktail package ($18 for a pre-made cocktail and the show) or you can buy the dinner package. (I don't know the price for that, as I bought the cocktail package.)

Other shows I saw in the theater:

Paz. Flamenco dancing, with the theme of peace and the art of Picasso.

Way. The music that makes you happy.

Life is Magic. Magician

One Day More. A compilation of a variety of Broadway shows, including West Side Story, Chicago, Phantom of the Opera, Oklahoma and Les Miserables.

Meraviglioso Amor. Songs of love.

Master Chef at Sea. There are ten food-related questions and passengers compete. The top six people who get the most correct answers get to participate in the competition. They have ten minutes to prepare a dish from the mystery box.

Outside the theater:

Dance classes:
Foxtrot, Charleston, Paso Doble, Arrocha, Tarantella, jive, rock 'n roll, disco, waltz, country, merengue, rueda de casino, and Latino (salsa, samba, flamenco). Plus a dance contest.

Evening parties:
*60's/70's/80's party
*Gatsby party
*Tropical (Caribbean theme)
*Retro
*White

Fitness center:
The fitness center is well-equipped. As is usually the case, the place was packed on our first at sea day, then wide open on other days.

Fitness classes:

*Complimentary
Morning stretch
Abs

*For a fee ($13 per class):
Yoga
Bodybuilding
Group cycling
Cardio boxing
Pilates

Spa:
The spa is absolutely fantastic. There are a number of different "stations" in the thermal area, including: steam rooms, dry saunas, an ice room, a salt room, whirlpools, relaxation areas, and heated beds.

Food and drinks:

The Marketplace Buffett has quite a variety of food stations: Many different food stations:

*Family and Kids (good mac 'n cheese)
*Salad
*Soup and pasta
*Grill
*Fruit and Vegetable
*Cold cuts and cheese (the fresh mozzarella is delicious!)
*Ethnic
*Mediterranean Corner
*Rotisserie
*Pizza (really good)
*Dessert

There is also a Marketplace Bar in the buffet area.

Outside, near the pool, you can grab snacks like pizza, burgers, fries, etc. But the highlight is the ice cream. The ice cream is so good that I just had to ask the name of the brand. (It's San Bernardo.) They also serve gelato-style, which is a different brand and equally good. (If you see the dark chocolate, order a double. It's the best I've ever had!) When they run out of one flavor, they open another flavor, so the variety is constantly changing.

The specialty restaurants were really good. I purchased the specialty dining package available on board: Tryptic: 3 meals (Butcher's Cut, Ocean Cay and Kaito Sushi Bar) for $100 per person.

Ocean Cay is their seafood restaurant. They serve tuna, salmon, sea bass, crab, clams, and more. The seafood appetizer for two is a photo op! They pushed a cart with fresh oysters around the restaurant. You could purchase six oysters for $15. I don't care for raw oysters, but my friends love oysters and said they were delicious.

The Butcher's Cut Steak House was excellent. They have various cuts of meat in a glass-fronted meat-aging fridge and you can select which one you want to dine on that evening. The lamb chops were outstanding.

I also dined at the Kaito Sushi Bar. I sat outside, looking at the promenade, which provided great seats for the nightly dome show.

The Teppanyaki was a ton of fun. Similar to Benihana, the chef prepares the food in front of you and it's quite a show. The amount of food is significant. You will not leave feeling hungry.

I did not get to try the HOLA! Tapas Bar.

The chef's pasta-making class isn't really making pasta. The pasta is already made. The chef shows you how to make sauce. But, for $29, you get a glass of wine and a really good pasta dish. It lasted about 45 minutes.

If you're a foodie, you may want to try the Chef's Table. I was told that the chef from the Ocean Cay restaurant puts together a 7-course meal, which includes a pairing of seven wines selected by the sommelier. It's $120 per person.

I upgraded my basic drink package to the Premium package because the drink limit on the Easy package is $6. With the Premium package, you can select drinks up to $12, which included alot more options. One of the highlights of the Premium package is that it includes all of the freshly made juice drinks as well as the bottled juices. I spent alot of time at the Bamboo pool and the bar there has the juicer to make the fresh juices.

Internet packages:

I pre-booked. I paid $51.90 for 2 GB (2000 MB) wifi for November 10-17, 2019 and I paid $34.90 for 1 GB of data for November 17-21, 2019. I didn't have any issues with using the internet.

Once on board:
*Premium package. $149.99. 4 devices. 6500 MB (shared). The ad states: Full internet access to check your email, browse the web, chat on the popular social networks, and stream your favorite videos.

*Standard. $99.99. 2 devices. 3000 MB (shared). The ad states: Ideal for limited internet usage. With this package, you can access all social networks and chat apps, check email and browse the web.

*Unlimited. $199.99. 1 device.

*Social. $69.99. 1 device. 1500 MB. Chat apps only. No audio or video calls.

MSC Meraviglia Dress Code

As stated on an MSC review page:

Daytime: During the daytime it's casual, with people wandering around in just swim suits and flip-flops.

Evening: In the evening it's dressier, but more smart casual than formal, except for the two "elegant" (not formal) nights per cruise. A jacket for the men and a dress for the ladies would not go amiss, but it's not strictly enforced. A suit or tux or ball gown are not necessary, though on the meet-the-captain night, people go all-out.

Not permitted: T-shirts and shorts are not allowed in the ships' public areas in the evenings. No swimwear is allowed in main dining rooms. Jeans are not allowed in the dining room on elegant nights.

My experience: Apparently the dress code is only intermittently enforced. We saw lots of people in shorts and t-shirts in public areas in the evenings. However, flip flops were not allowed in the main dining rooms at dinner.

Miscellaneous:

The "special" laundry service package is $35, for a max of 20 items per cabin. (You should receive this offer on/around day 3 or 4.) (On other cruise lines, the cost for this package is $19.99.)

On at sea days, I was easily able to find chairs at the pool. Bar service was good, as staff constantly walked around the pool taking orders. They also push a cart around with basic drinks, beer and wine.

For kids, the aqua park area is lots of fun. In addition to all of the water features for kids, there are two big waterslides, which are fun for adults, too. There is also an arcade area for kids, virtual reality games, a 4D movie theater, bowling, a sports court, and lots of other things.

There is also children's playroom, Baby Club, Mini & Juniors, Young & Teens Club, and Lego Family Fun area.

I am a non-smoker and I had heard about smoking being a problem on MSC. I didn't find it to be a problem at all. I actually had to seek out the areas where the smokers are located just so that I could find them and know where they were located. If you simply avoid those areas (as I did), then you shouldn't be affected.

If you like dressing up for theme nights, bring:
* A formal outfit for Elegant Night
* A white outfit for White Night

You can apply with MSC to status match to your existing elite status on another cruise line or hotel. I applied using my Platinum status with NCL and received Gold status with MSC. This is a very nice benefit because you get priority disembarkation when tendering. (You also get some other benefits, but the most beneficial to me was the priority disembarkation ticket.)

Important note: When I applied, I was not aware that I could have used my hotel elite status to request a status match. I am Diamond with Hilton and I believe that would have matched to Black with MSC.

The only big disappointment was that their private island isn't open yet. (I was really looking forward to seeing it.) So, they provided compensation of $100 per cabin shipboard credit and a future cruise credit (20% of the price you paid for the cruise fare). Instead, we stopped in Cozumel for the day, which I loved.

There are payment machines in a variety of places on decks 5 & 6. Payment options: credit card, debit card, or cash. I highly recommend that you use one of the machines to set up your payment for your onboard purchases. Otherwise, you will have to stand in line at the front desk and the lines were sometimes very long.

Other issues:

They didn't tell us about the closure of their private island and the itinerary change until we were on board. It would have been nice to know in advance so that I could have scheduled an excursion in Cozumel. Instead, I had to book one of the excursions provided by MSC on board (which is probably why they didn't tell us beforehand).

There is no ATM on the ship, so be prepared.

The power plugs in the public areas are European. So if you're planning to plug in outside of your room, then be sure to bring an adapter.

Oh, and they ran out of blueberries and mint on day two. But that situation was quickly remedied by day three.

Summary:

I had a positive experience overall and I will definitely sail with MSC again.

The Latin dancing “couple” (as I’m guessing they’ve been dancing as a pair since childhood) was ridiculously good.