This was our first sailing on MSC and given all the negative reviews we read prior to our cruise we were pleasantly surprised with our experience.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Fastest ever. From the time I parked the car, we were on the ship in 20 minutes. We had a 1:30 check-in time and arrived shortly after 1:00
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Main dining was below average when compared to NCL, RCL and Celebrity. Service was slow and food was average. Daily menus seemed limited.
Buffet food was OK at best. Little variety day-to-day. No eggs to order station. Frequently ran out of cups, plates etc. Pizza was very good!
Limited experience with specialty dining but was very good. based on comments from other passengers, all specialty dining followed suit. Must be noted, purchasing dining packages limits the menu at specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Pools are plenty and was never hard to find loungers. We used the thermal spa one day which was well worth it. Casino was small and did not have slot machine ticket redemption machines requiring you to stand in line for the one cashier.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Entertainment was above average based on recent experience on other lines. The carousel shows, despite a minimal fee, were very entertaining. Nightly entertainment was good with a scheduled nightly "party" after 10:00 pm. Lots of energy.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
For the most part, staff very friendly and helpful. Some issues/questions resulted in having to speak to multiple representatives but in the end all were resolved/answered.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The Meraviglia is a beautiful ship with a very good layout. Plenty of elevators resulting in waits only after shows let out. The ship was clean but not quite as clean as what we've experienced on NCL.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Balcony cabin on Deck 8 in bump out between life rafts very large balcony and excellent location for elevators and getting to and from most popular areas of the ship. Room was spacious enough with a pretty standard cruise ship bathroom. Closet design makes access difficult and in general there was much less storage than on other ships (no shelves, cabinets in desk area).
Ship tip
If we were to sail on MSC we would pre-purchase meal plan despite limited menu as it would add meal time fl
Thank you for the awesome review. Very detailed and fair. Sounds like they are making some improvements, especially in entertainment, as that was well below average early last year. The food sounds the same except I didn't much like the pizza, too tomato tasting without much cheese and toppings. Glad you didn't have a big issue to work out with customer service and could get it resolved.
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