First Time With MSC
MSC Meraviglia Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
4 Night Bahamas (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: January 30, 2022
Ship: MSC Meraviglia
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 11298
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
As soon as we stepped on the ship, we were swarmed with staff trying to sell us drink, specialty dinning and internet packages. It was too much and reminded us of when we arrive in some ports and the locals want to sell you tours and souvenirs. After the muster drill on the first day our TV and phone went out, we reported it to the service desk and they sent a guy to check on it. He made sure the cables were plugged in, said he would be back in touch. He did not come back so we reported it again later that evening to the service desk, the next morning some staff showed up to work on it, got it working and then it went out again. Our room steward Agus double checked it later in the day and noticed it was not working again while we were on Ocean Cay. Agus contacted the appropriate staff who came back and stuck with it until they got it all working. We were unable to get “The MSC and me” chat to work. Carnival has a similar program that works great and allows members of your party to stay in touch while on the ship. We would have really liked for that to work. We purchased the Fantastica upgrade which was a waste of money we received no benefit from this option. When we called Room Service to discuss the package and “free room services and/or breakfast in our room” we were told there was still some kind of charge. We had transferred over our loyalty points from Carnival to achieve Gold status with MSC. According to their information, Gold should have meant that at least the following small perks, which we did not receive: · Fruit basket · Milestone reward · Complimentary gift · Luggage tags Pre-cruise we purchased the umbrella rental for both days on Ocean Cay at $12/day. This worked great the first day however the second day was rather cold and very windy and we did not use the umbrella. We spoke to Guest Services and were referred us to the Excursions Desk, spoke to a very nice lady who indicated she would check on it and see but that excursion as booked with third parties and perhaps they would be able to refund but she was not sure. “Third Party”, is it not MSC’s Private Island, facilities and staff? Never heard anything back on that not even the curtesy of a “very sorry can’t do a refund.” We were charged $50 each “service charge” once arriving on the ship not sure what that was for exactly, I think I read something that indicated it was for service staff. That is fine but never noticed anything on that charge prior to booking, maybe we missed it. Over all the experience on the ship was ok, lovely ship, food was just ok but managed to find a few favorites items that worked for us. Entertainment and vibe on ship was low key kind of dull but perhaps that was in part because of the low occupancy and other safety restrictions. Seemed like you had to hunt out information on how things worked like the MSC app, room service, photos, etc. The push was more on selling extras; drink, dinning, internet packages. Room was nice not much storage and bathroom was tight and not much counter top or storage, the shower was nice. What made our first cruise with MSC and our first cruise in two years great was the staff everyone was very nice, attentive and professional. The service in the Marketplace Buffett by everyone, line folks, drink people, pizza folks they were all outstanding!!! Ocean Cay was fantastic, unfortunately it was a bit cold but not even MSC can control the weather, if we were to cruise with you again it would be to go to this island and visit the lovely staff members we met!! However, we would not upgrade to the Fantastic or any other cruise package.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ports of call
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas
Disembarkation
Traveler Photos
11 Comments
CruzeFan 2 years ago