Overall, this was a great experience and would probably do it again. This was our first cruise and it didn't disappoint. I encourage everyone to g et on it. It's nice and affordable. If you drink a lot get the drink package. The only think you get with your booking is the room, buffet style food and whatever they have at the fountain for drinks(none are carbonated), and complementary dining experience(and if you want breakfast and lunch also complementary). Everything else you need to pay for. Tips for the crew are nice, but they also charge you tips per person per day @ a rate of $14/per/day.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Nice and easy. we got there early. They board in groups. So even though we were supposed to embark at 11:30 we could have gone to the counter the time we got to the terminal. At this time they board in groups, so you go to the counter when you get there to check in, and they give you a group number, then they just call the group numbers to embark.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The buffet was good, had a large variety of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There were snacks available even after hours. They had pizza for after hours, you could go and grab a slice or two hafter you had a few drinks at the bar and before you went into your room. Coffee, fresh water, lemonade, and strawberry juice at the fountain all the time. the deserts were european deserts, nicely flavored and not super sweet. The complementary restaurants were okay. We ate at the Panorama. The experience at the restaurants is different from the US restaurants give. You have to order everything up front. Also if you do decide to dine in just know that the food comes in warm, just warm. If you want it hot, you have to tell them. The experience is pretty quick. Your time there would be a maximum of one hour just because everything is back-to-back. We ate at one specialty restaurant, Ocean Cay. I have to say I had the best experience there and the best food. We got Tuna stake and Black Cod. The best main courses we've ever had.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The pools are salt water pools. Three pools, They are not deep, perhaps 5' 6" deep. Two outdoor pools: one mid ship, Atmosphere, deck 15, another to the back of the ship, Horizon with view to the back of the ship, and another covered(with sliding roof) Bamboo, front of the boat. The fitness center was nice, they have a .33mi track outside on deck 16 that you can walk/run on.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
On MSC Meraviglia they had all sorts of musicals twice a day(included in the price) and some Carousel shows(twice a day) that needed reservation and a paid ticket. Their F1 simulators were pretty good and realistic. The arcade center was decent, with quite a few games available.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service was very good. The House keeper we had took very good care of us on Deck 13 port side, Luis Garcia. The best housekeeper always happy and willing to help. The bartenders were always nice always making sure you got the drink right. Mentioning Rynell Pinto, the bartender at Edge Cocktail Bar.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was well designed. The crew was cleaning everything thoroughly and were always on top always vacuuming, cleaning and disinfecting all the surfaces, common areas, and elevators.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our room was very very clean and well maintained. The towels were restocked daily, twice a day. By far the best House Keeping service we've ever had, shoutout to Luis Garcia for doing an absolute fantastic job maintaining the rooms and taking care of us. Very nice touch on the towel origami. He used to leave us all sorts of animals on his end of shift room checkup.
Ship tip
Read the daily program that gets delivered to your room and take advantage of all the amenities and features on the ship.
Just like every port, busy with a bunch of shops around. We didn't like the crowded shops so we made our way out took a taxi and went diving with one of the local dive shops, maybe 15min taxi ride from the port. We did not book an excursion but rather did our own excursion.
Very commercial port, a bunch of shops, duty free, all sorts of crafted items, jewelry shops, and small vendors, waiting for you to make a purchase. We didn't like the crowd so we took a stroll in town, and took a taxi from the port to downtown. then walked around downtown for a bit, then hopped on a boat for a two tank scuba trip, that was booked with a private dive shop.
Very nice and easy. We had no luggage with us, so when they called our group we were ready to get off the ship. If you linked your Credit Card to the room key card then you just walked out at the time they called your group.
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