New Years cruise

Item: MSC Meraviglia
Rating: 3.7
Author: zorij

MSC Meraviglia Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

zorij

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 98

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

Verified Review

6 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 27, 2021

Ship: MSC Meraviglia

Cabin number: 10173

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Overall cruise was enjoyable, ship is beautiful as are all of the MSC ships that sail here in the US. New Years was not as "wow" as we expected but maybe it was due to covid. We had read that they do fireworks (don't know how true that is), there were none. If you are a voyagers club member you will not get some of your perks, of course with the excuse is due to covid (like so many other places now a days). For example one of the things we are suppose to receive is a free photo (usually with the Capitan) we were told we can get one taken on the last night dinner in the main dining room. Well, we didn't want to go to the MDR on the last night and even though we had taken other pictures that didn't count towards the freebie. We had a drink package and it was impossible to ever get bar service at your table at the buffet. We always had to go to the bar ourselves. We were not allowed to serve ourselves at the buffet, that's fine but it really slows down the line when you have only one person serving, and sometimes they walk away to do something else and we have to wait for them to return, that was not ideal. Hot tub usage is limited not only in time but also in the number of people allowed to go in at the same time. That made it almost impossible to get in, especially during day time. The private island was great. It is still developing so there is plenty more that needs to be done there but is very nice. A lot of space for everyone to enjoy comfortably. During port time in Port Canaveral there was a tax (FL) on the drinks we ordered at the bar. That was something very unusual and something that had not happened on another ship. There was the same sign on their private island at the bar that they charge 12% Bahamian tax (not sure how that works, but on the ship we did get charged the 7% in FL while in Port Canaveral.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

They really need to work on this. The month before we did Carnaval out of Port Canaveral for a very first time and they were outstanding. By far the best embarkation we ever had on any cruise line. NO wait, no waist of time, straight in!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I have to say their food had improved a good bit since previous cruises we had with MSC. Not where we would like to see it in order to be compatible with others we have cruised before but it was nice to see they really made an effort to make it better.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

They have nice water slides, the ropes course is very small but it's still fun, the hot tubs have 15 min, limit due to covid and restrict the number of people using them at one time which made it difficult to get a spot many times. You want to make it in early morning before breakfast is your best chance.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Shows are terrible, I mean it! The only thing that was worth watching and we enjoyed a lot was the "Off the record" band in the Carousel lounge, Christina..., girl, you rock! The musicians were amazing, the lounge itself is spectacular. That was by far the highlight of performers on this ship. MSC has to understand that the Italian style opera shows are not appealing to anyone else especially to the American cruiser.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Staff was great for the most part. It was hard to get bar service at the buffet, every time we had to go to the bar after a long wait at the table and order and carry the drinks ourselves. There were bar servers just not checking all areas all the time. A lot of times they will congregate for chats and not even looka around for orders. Not a big deal, but when there is a big line at the bar and your food is already at the table by the time you get the drinks the food is cold.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Ship was very clean! They really do a good job on that. They had people to maintain the public bathrooms at all times.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin was very clean, we had a balcony one which is always very nice and makes the space bigger but the cabin itself was a bit small compared to the last ship we were on. The closet space is not enough if more than two people in the cabin.

Ship tip

Ship is beautiful, but if you care about shows this is not the ship for you!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas

4 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

A long, long line to get off the ship, how was that possible we couldn't understand. Never has that happened on another ship.

10 Comments

cbyron3 2 years ago

I thought the amore show that week was amazing. Second best I've ever seen. The tenor and soprano were top shelf. Long well deserved standing ovation.. We had our free picture done in the MDR on the last night and received it no problem.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

PiratesWorld 2 years ago

Thanks for the info

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

izrgreen 2 years ago

Sorry you were disappointed.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

kathi64 2 years ago

Taxes are charged if you are not in International waters.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

1CruiseGram 2 years ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Try again after covid

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

AuntPinkie 2 years ago

Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Curt34 2 years ago

Thanks for the review. You pay taxes on drinks while in port.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

javawoody 2 years ago

Appreciate your sharing

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

cruising2004 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your detailed review.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

MSC..one and done

Lucky Caribbean Cruise

It was terrible cruise