Beautiful Ship

Item: MSC Meraviglia
Rating: 2.6
Author: MrTandboo

MSC Meraviglia Cruise Review

MrTandboo

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 21

Overall rating:

2.6 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 23, 2020

Ship: MSC Meraviglia

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

MSC have been great. We booked because this cruise was excellent value for money, we have unfortunately encountered medical clearance issues at Ocho Rios Grand Cayman and now Cozumel and have not been able to disembark. MSC has graciously offered a full refund of our ticket price, AND 20 percent future cruise credit. In addition we each got $100 on board spend credit, full refund of all tours, and a free day of internet. So essentially we have cruised the Caribbean day in a beautiful floating palace for the price of our drinks package. Nevertheless with the European standard of customer service at the delivery point I’m not sure we’ll be back. If MSC are serious about capturing the North American market there are plenty of areas to improve

Embarkation

4 out of 5

We arrived a little early and had to wait in line, but overall the process seemed to work well

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

We have a group of 6 and requested seating together, the Maitre D accommodated this with a nice window table.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

I thought the regular on board activities were somewhat limited. We had unscheduled sea days, and port holds when the entertainment system, activities, games etc just seemed to be non existent.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

All the shows, dance parties, karaoke we’re very good. The musicians were talented and entertaining.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

This is where MSC seems to fall short. Particularly with the little things, the buffet is severely understaffed,, no one walking around offering coffees or extra drinks, no smiles, I don’t ever recall seeing any supervisors walking around or lending a hand. Same thing on the pool decks and bars. There were a few noticeable exceptions, but in general, the staff do not seem to be empowered to make decisions that enhance the customer experience or necessarily understand what is required to do that.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Beautiful is all I can say, the ship is only 2 1/2 years old, we all loved the mall.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Do not expect a North American level of service

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cozumel, Mexico

1 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

1 out of 5

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas

1 out of 5

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

1 out of 5

Miami, Florida

1 out of 5

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

TBD

7 Comments

MrTandboo 4 years ago

Apologies I rated Cozumel before we disembarked, it was a pretty good stay. I have been there before and always enjoyed my days there. If there is a way to edit my review I would give it 4 stars

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fantom1979 4 years ago

The parts of your review regarding service match up exactly with by experience with MSC.

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kallllo 4 years ago

We are currently on the same ship and I agree on several of you points. I get what you mean about the European standard of service which was seriously (and still?) lacking last time I sailed with them. So that time around we booked a yacht club ticket and trust me or not ... WOW it is the day and night 😉. There you can find the real American service I have been accustomed to even with not being in a suite. I am French so I can compare the too way of doing things and I must admit that is why I mainly sail with an american spirit companies.

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TheVegasSphere 4 years ago

I’m surprised you rated Cozumel one star considering they stepped up compared to the other ports. They didn’t turn the ship away, and after a prudent medical review and against local protests, let people disembark.

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Cruiserike0322 4 years ago

Interesting review

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connerscruise 4 years ago

Thank you for your review

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modpol999 4 years ago

What do the North Americans call good service? Cruised with MSC and it was faultless.

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