Deceptive and Opaque

MSC Meraviglia Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

KPeartree

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

2.3 out of 5

14 Night Western Caribbean & Bahamas (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 23, 2022

Ship: MSC Meraviglia

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

MSC is a disaster and I will not cruise with them again, regardless of the seemingly lower fare. Here are several key problems: --------------------------------------- 1) Deceptive. Tricks you into spending more than you should. You are highly pressured into upgrades because the basic fare covers so little (e.g. you will decide to upgrade food because you'll get sick of the basic options--which are kept extremely limited, presumably just so you'll upgrade). My husband and I did decide to splurge on some extras, like unlimited speciality dining. However, even if you upgrade, you'll still feel pressured to upgrade more. For example, we didn't realize that many specialty dining meals offer such limited items - sometimes offering no variety, choice, or enough food for dinner. Moreover, because it's prepaid and there’s no direct server incentive, the service was so slow (sometimes taking 2-3 hours to get small meals) that we gave up and just opted for the basic buffet or left before getting most of our food. They also told us on the cruise that some days were off limits to use our "unlimited" package because they were offering special "holiday" meals at the specialty restaurants. However, unbeknownst to those not on the unlimited package, the holiday meals were nearly identical to the regular specialty meals, they just cost way more and weren’t covered under specialty dining plans. This type of trickery was pervasive. In addition, one reason we chose the cruise is that it claimed to have more time in ports (e.g., 8am to 5:30pm, instead of shorter timeframes like 10-4pm on other cruises). However, these numbers turned out to be lies. Even if the boat docked 8-5:30, we would inevitably not be let off the boat for hours and then would be required to come back extra early. This meant that longer excursions were canceled. For example, at one stop, we were told to meet in the auditorium prior to docking to facilitate our trip. For over 2 hours after we docked we were kept in the auditorium and lectured on showing "patience" because, for unknown reasons, we were not allowed to disembark. This may have been a border issue (or the cruise wasn’t prepared…) but we were offered no explanation or apology - only told that excursion time would not be affected. However, as soon as we got to the mainland, we were immediately told there was no longer time for our excursion (even though we were also required to return 1.5 hours early to wait in line to get back on the boat). Instead of doing the excursion we signed up for, we were told we could decide on the spot to do one alternative excursion by signing the back of our ticket, but the cruise would not tell us 1) what the new excursion included or 2) how much it cost. We of course lacked internet access at that point and could not research ourselves. Manipulations about excursions were pervasive. -------------------------------- 2) Poor communication. Lack of transparency is incredibly frustrating and even dangerous. First the ship had an hour time-change that was terribly communicated (the initial change was announced pervasively; but the switch back the next day was never mentioned). My party could have easily missed our boat. We only found out that MSC had changed times again because a private tour operator told us. It was terrifying. Even before our cruise, we tried to reach customer service about questions and they didn’t return our call until our cruise was nearly over. Talking to the service desk on the boat was impossible, since there was a line for the only two representatives from open to close - which wasn’t very long anyway. Second, the ship didn't tell us about a disease outbreak it clearly knew about. Crew increasingly disappeared throughout our trip, and service got slower and slower, until every meal took hours. The last few days crew were wearing heavy masks, while nearly every guest was coughing. My husband and I both got the flu (we were both vaccinated). No one said anything to guests or offered us masks. By the end of the cruise, it was truly a nightmare. ------------------------- 3) No management presence. No one is in charge and nothing is coordinated. You therefore cannot complain to anyone. You spend most of the cruise waiting in line trying to get basic information and use the things you've already paid for. Embarkation and debarkation especially were hours-long nightmares. When things go wrong, there is no acknowledgement or apology; if anything, guests are asked to show "patience." There is clearly a complete disconnect between whoever is “managing” the cruise and the guest-facing staff, who also seemed totally exasperated. --------------------------- There were a few positives. I thought the boat was nice. We had a very simple interior room and it was fine and well-serviced. I also thought the dance lessons were fantastic.The employees we actually interacted with were polite and positive, even though they also seemed overwhelmed and frustrated. ------------------------ Overall, pay extra for a better cruise-line. Your wallet, sanity, and health will thank you.