You get what you pay for - nice experience if you're ok with horrible service

Item: MSC Meraviglia
Rating: 3.4
Author: FadyDizzle

MSC Meraviglia Cruise Review to Bermuda

FadyDizzle

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 12

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bermuda (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 25, 2024

Ship: MSC Meraviglia

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 10178

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 2 months ago

Review summary

As long as you're ok with very poor service, the cruise and boat are nice and you get what you pay for. This is my 2nd time on the MSC Meraviglia, so I wasn't surprised by the penny pinching quality but the service took a huge nosedive since my 2023 cruise. They did improve the embarkation and disembarkation SIGNIFICANTLY though. We were on and off the ship in minutes vs. hours in 2023 when they first started sailing from Brooklyn. Not sure I would do it again to be honest. If you find it comparatively much cheaper than other cruises you're comparing, go for it. If on par or within 25%-30% of price, then go for something else to be honest.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

They care about policy and not about service. Had multiple bad experiences with children's staff, guest services (when reporting stolen money from my stateroom, they literally treated us like the criminal and took hours away from our vacation only to then say they won't investigate the room steward based on their terms & conditions, just a bad experience), and other service issues in the dinner.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ship tip

If you're getting a balcony, look for the ones that are near the mid-ship elevator, some extra space without a premium upgrade.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Brooklyn, New York

3 out of 5

Royal Naval Dockyard, West End, Bermuda

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

9 Comments

outtoseapatty 2 months ago

We have a safe in all cruise rooms. We carefully use it. Maybe they thought you left a tip? I have had money stolen in two diff high end land hotels years ago, so i never leave any money even hidden in a suitcase.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

TiffyTaffy 2 months ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Gwbigdog 2 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

TheBigSalad 2 months ago

Thanks for your review.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Skooby 2 months ago

Thanks for your feedback.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

HeavySeas 2 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Popdog 2 months ago

We too had a less than stellar experience on the Meraviglia in 2023. Our issues were more with the poor experience with our Duplex Suite and none existent butler service. The ship was great, the food, while a different culinary experience, was fine, service by the staff and crew other than the overall concierge service lacking was super. Pleased that you found the embarkation and disembarkation greatly improved. I agree they were on a learning curve at the beginning. We were fortunate to be in the Yacht Club so it was a much better experience than the general process but still had its start-up issues also. We are hoping our May 2025 Meraviglia cruise will be much more enjoyable with the many bugs worked out. Your review gives me hope. Thank you for your review.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

24MyLuckyDragon 2 months ago

Oh wow! I’ve heard/read so many bad reviews about MSC/general & MSC/Meraviglia, but never heard about $$/missing. Bad & concerning. Sorry to hear about your experience. Thank you for sharing your detailed review. Wishing you better luck on your next & happy cruising in the future 😎⚓️🤩❣️‼️

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

cruising2004 2 months ago

Thank you for your review.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

MSC Meraviglia is a beautiful ship, sadly plagued with many service difficulties (due to staffing shortages and overbooking of small children).

1st Time on MSC and in the Yacht Club!

Average cruise, nice ship