Very few complaints
MSC Meraviglia Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 18, 2021
Ship: MSC Meraviglia
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 13165
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 3 years ago
Review summary
Overall a great experience. Ship was stunning and the crew were 1st class. Embarkation process was quick and seamless. A 30 minute embarkation window was provided to us and getting from the curb to on board the ship took no more than 20 minutes...probably closer to 15. Overall cleanliness was remarkable and it felt as if they were taking great strides to keep all of the passengers safe. The ship was at 1/5th capacity, masks were required indoors, all adults were fully vaccinated, a negative Covid test result no older than 48 hours was required and there were daily temperature checks. They also required that everyone where a smart bracelet that monitored your movement on the ship for contact tracing if someone did test positive on board. Felt as if every safety precaution imaginable was being taken. Food was hit and miss...some days it was fantastic and other's just ok, but not nearly as bad as the reviews I've read. The buffet was great quality, but limited variety due to the amount of passengers (only 1200 on our cruise). Pizza was as good as advertised. We also paid for the teppanyaki bar one evening which was a lot of fun and the food was very good. The bartenders were great, but selection also somewhat limited due to the amount of passengers on board. We looked forward to the beer selection in the pub, but it only had a small selection available. If you are a beer drinker and don't enjoy Heineken, it may be a long week for you, haha. The champagne bar however had a marvelous selection and our bartender Yohan took amazing care of us throughout the cruise. They also had an extensive spirits and cocktail selection. Entertainment was the one thing I found lacking on the Meraviglia. Cirque du Soleil which is normally on board was not available on our cruise. The Broadway Theatre (free) had the same performers each night which were marginal at best and the shows were unimaginative and lackluster. The dancers were great, but the singers...especially the men left something to be desired. There was an illusionist one night, but we were seated to the side and could see how the uninspired tricks (e.g. sawing his assistant in half...yawn) were done. There was also another venue, the Carousel Lounge which was available for a nominal fee...($10 and it included a drink I believe) and we heard the entertainment was much better here, but we never made it over to a show. Debarkation was pretty typical, but no complaints at all. Once our group was called, we were off very quickly. They also have an option to get off when you would like if you choose to carry your own luggage off. This was our first MSC cruise and we didn't know what to expect based off of mixed reviews. Overall we had a great time and had very few complaints. The ship itself is my favorite one I've ever been on. Just absolutely stunning and easy to navigate for the size. Would absolutely cruise with MSC and on the Meraviglia in particular again in a heartbeat.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Brass Anchor Pub
Great spot to grab a drink with live music. Very large space with a traditional pub feel. Beer selection was lacking our particular cruise due to the small passenger size, but normally it looks to have a large selection.
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ports of call
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas
7 Comments
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