MSC Meraviglia Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I’ll stay with Celebrity cruise line. However met some really nice people which made this trip better than it was. Again staff excellent.

Ship is good clean but staff are not friendly, you have to pay for everything on ship ( drinks , intertainment, restaurants..)

We (family and friends totaling 26) absolutely LOVED everything about our experience aboard the MSC Meraviglia. The ship is huge, and we hardly ever felt it moving, yet we quickly familiarized ourselves with all its details. The variety of food options was immense and fabulous. From casual dining to fine dining, there was something for everyone. The entertainment was top-notch, featuring classical performances by highly ranked artists. It was truly memorable. However, we were disappointed with the photo booth experience. The process to get the photos at the end of the cruise was quite stressful, involving too much negotiation and hassle to obtain our own copies. This process could definitely be more friendly and streamlined. Overall, we had an incredible family vacation and didn't want it to end. We're already looking forward to sailing again soon!

This is the WORST cruise I have every been on. I have never had a complaint with the many cruises I have been on until this one. I will never travel MSC cruise again. I will travel the same destinations I've already traveled if I leave from New York/Jersey with Royal Caribbean or Carnival Cruise.

When I booked this cruise through I Wes supposed to get on onboard credit. I have no idea what happened to it. I never received it. Very disappointed in

This was my first cruise ever. Single traveler. Beautiful ship! Very clean and the staff are amazing. Sad we had very bad weather, 5 days out of the 8. We couldn’t dock at Ocean Cay due to bad weather.

Yacht club making worth every penny!!!! Great service and staff felt luxurious from start to finish

We would definitely book this cruise again and recommend to others due to low cost and value for money. Our only complaint was the food was not as good quality as other cruise comps we have had in past.

The workers are awesome and should be recognized more. They were very nice and very helpful!!! Priya our guy who cleaned our room was very good

Very nice cruise with some hiccups , would do it again, and would recommend to others

This was our first experience with MSC after 15 prior cruises with Carnival, RC, Princess, and Celebrity. Some areas were great (considering the cost), and some areas upsetting to very disappointing. • Ship is very modern and beautiful, more so in person than in pictures. Sky Lounge is one the best places to be. However, promenade is a bit narrow for this ship size, no front exposure at all in open or close decks, the entire front is given to Yacht club. Due to this, no option to walk around during sail away. • Casino is large, although, the non-smoking side still smelled with smoke, I believed ppl were still smoking there. • They really should have added an extra set of stairs/elevators in the aft. Very long walk from the end of buffet to nearest elevator bank. • Strange location for Ocean Cay venue where the Carousel shows take place. Getting there involves a loooong walk from aft elevators through hallway to casino, through the casino before you find the venue. • Thermal Spa: Loved all kind of steam and sauna rooms. Lockers are convenient in the changing room; upon entry to spa, you exchange the room card for a locker key that you wear on your wrist. Did not love: both bubbly pools (temp was lukewarm, can’t call them hot tubs) didn’t have steps to enter them. From my group I was the only one with the pass, I never dared to enter them without seeing where I am stepping and nothing to hold on while stepping in them. • Buffet - we expected something similar to Carnival, but we felt it was slightly better. I would give 5 stars for the value paid, although it was a bit repetitive. - Tip: Tea Time that is not announced on the scheduling page of the app, but posted states when you enter the buffet 4-5 PM. The treats counter is hidden far back on the right side. Serve treats, ice cream, and proteins too (egg salad, tuna salads, etc.). - Pizza open until 2 AM - Burgers/Hot Dogs late, but not sure how late, at least until 11 pm I believe. No such variety of toppings as Guys Burgers on Carnival, but not bad. - Burgers/Hot dogs and Tea-time are useful in between lunch and dinner times. • Dining room: - A bit worse than Carnival. - Good: menu choices, 2 out 3 dining rooms (Olive ones) are bright. Panorama MDR was just too crowded with tables on top of each other and dark. - Not so good: everything else.  Drinks were not offered at all.  We went there to Panorama and of the Olive ones together 5 times: 2 dinners, 1 lunch, 2 sea-day brunches. Quality of food was often sub-par, I am not picky at all, but once a piece of meat was so over-salted and dry it was impossible to eat it. Portions for an entree are on a smaller size, sometimes looked like it was an appetizer sometimes in a bigger plate. Can order unlimited appetizers but 2nd entree is an extra $5.  The waiters/Servers were very professional, but did not appear to be happy, obviously overworked, no cheerfulness, which was observed by others; no one had time to stop for a quick chat, which I am ok with, but on prior cruises we observed that at least half of the dining room staff like talking to guests outside of taking food orders.  Service was slow during most of the meals we had. The worst one was on the last sea day brunch. No offers to refill tiny coffee cup. They were so slow in taking orders and serving them, that by the time we were waiting for desserts, even those guests who came after us were gone. The entire crew was cleaning all around us talking loudly to each other, including managers, it felt very wrong and intimidating because we felt that we posed an annoyance to them that they couldn't clean our table because we were the only ones there. No apologies for delays were offered. It felt so wrong that for the first time in my cruising life, I walked out before the desert was served, leaving the young adults traveling with me there by themselves. When my son started complaining after I left, I guest the atmosphere heated, because the other young ones (18-20) some of which were sailing first or second time in their life, left too. Needless to say what impression they will be sharing with their families. • Stateroom: just disappointing. - Size was OK for the interior. - No seating space whatsoever, no chair/stool. Something that looks as coffee table made out metal (aka, it’s cold to sit on) can supposedly function as a stool. - Not enough shelving with a wasted space around the mirror/counter. - TV is too small for the distance they placed it from the beds. If beds were placed across the room, and TV on the long wall, it would be watchable, otherwise, useless. - Location: we had 3 identical rooms in a row 14148 14150 14152. We like the location and would love it again, only finding them is a challenge, if you walk from the bow to the aft, you won’t find them. They are hidden behind the door near aft elevators. For some passengers, this location would be too loud due to lido being above, but they were not right under buffet or pool area, more between staircases and elevator area and we are fine with mild/random noises. - Cleaning: All 3 rooms were not completely cleaned by 2:15 pm, although the announcement was done that rooms are ready by 1:30. There was no indication on 2 of the rooms that the room steward is coming back to finish anything (from visual signs they still needed vacuuming). The dirtiest room (dirty counter, floor, towels, only beds were done) had a magnet on a door indicating cleaning in progress, but there was no one around. Also, someone else's suitcases were in that room, but that's perhaps because they allow luggage drop-off before rooms are ready, and during that time rooms’ doors are strangely open even if no one is around. When we called customer service, 3 people came in including our room steward, they took away strangers’ luggage and promised to finish cleaning during the dinner time. Never ever this was experienced in my prior 15 cruises. - Only 1 bath towel and 1 hand towel per person. - Took 2 days to get pool towels and MSC doesn’t give them out by the pool, only exchange there. Broken laundry was cited. • Karaoke: this is an important part for us due to a singer in the family. - Loved:  The consistency as 2 hours every night dedicated to karaoke.  Staff – different team member was leading it each night, all are good.  Song choices (other ships often lack choices for my family singer 😊) - Did not love:  Equipment setting, as background music was way too loud all nights and the singer’s voice was not almost inaudible, especially when people are loud (you can search "Meraviglia Karaoke" for videos posted in June-2024, we'll upload some).  For a ship this size Studio Bar is way too small for a karaoke, half of the nights, there was a standing crowd). To be honest, RC Oasis class has the same problem. • Verdict: MSC needs to improve service by increasing workforce, in my observation. We may or may not sail again which will largely depend whether there are good pools or not, convenient for us departure ports / time in ports / destinations.

Beautiful ship and the crew was fantastic. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and all the ports we visited. Nassau was not what I had expected and thought it would've had a better vibe. Ocean Cay was a great island with lots of great places to relax on the several beaches it had. The island crew did a great job at making everyone comfortable.

I was pleasantly surprised, everything was much better than I thought it was going to be on a lower priced cruise. The lack of green cooked vegetables in the buffet was the only problem.

Everything was good food was good and stuff were good overall I had one of the best experience I've had on a cruise line.

I'm going to gripe about an unpleasant encounter first, then I will review the ship. I have one major complaint about this boat. It is the casino manager. They have a system whereby if you cash out and are owed coin as part of the balance, they will not cash out the coin until the last day. Fine; except then on the last day we had to make 4 trips to get the 65 cents we were owed and wait in line over 10 minutes each trip. They kept telling us come back at noon, come back at 2, come back at 4. Each time...no coin. The 65 cents is no big deal, it's the repeated misinformation, and total disregard for our time that irks. Before the attempt to get coin we went to the front Desk and complained, they said they messaged the casino manager, and we were assured they would be ready for us, so we went straight there. Nope nada. I felt like I was part of a Charlie Brown script. If you value you your time, and have any desire not to let them keep your change, then don't use the casino. Now onto the boat- Embarkation and disembarkation with MSC has been amazing; organized and quick. I've been on 2 MSC cruises, the Seaside out of Port Canaveral for a week 8/2024, and the Meraviglia out of Brooklyn for a week 5/12/2024; I much prefer the Seaside. The Meraviglia was built in 2017, the same as the Seaside, and they hold a similar number of passengers. The Meraviglia holds about 350 more. The Meraviglia seems much less techie, and is lacking many of the cool items on the Seaside like elevators that give a wait time, and cutting edge video displays. They also have only one buffet area while the Seaside has 2. That makes a huge difference. I also found the layout for premium dining and the shops more customer friendly on the Seaside. The entertainment on the Seaside was far superior to Meraviglia in every way as well. More live entertainment in the lounges and common areas, and the sound quality was better too. The stage shows on Seaside, many performed by the crew, were much more lively and entertaining than those on Meraviglia. The food was good, much better than my most recent Royal Caribbean cruise last year, on both MSC ships. The staff on both MSC ships were also friendly and eager to please(except the casino issue described above) Many parts of the voyage were lackluster and they could have easily been better, however the trip left me relaxed and pleased overall.

Great value for the money. Would be nice if they had My time dining.

Guest services has to be better trained so they can actually answer questions and help out, although they do try. Dining preference seating needs to be better handled or better explained at booking. Chocolate shop is outstanding. It is a great cruise for the price, but it could be better.

One of our best cruises ever! MSC should work on the disembarkment of their Yacht Club guests.

Great cruise ! Smooth seas! Good drinks ! Would most definitely sail with MSC again. Best bang for you buck. Easy to get too ! Ship has a great layout. Indoor pool is a major plus !

Too many people, a little limited space. Limited table tennis, they put tables tennis only morning and evening hours. Need to follow the worker To receive sudoku. No tea spoons. Offen were no tea, no coffee, no hot water. We should walk to another side of the cruise to receive hot water. Dining tables were full of used dishes. Many times I did cleaning table by myself before to start eating (removed dirty dishes, clean table). No face towels. AND BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE RESON - EVERYONE WERE SICK BY THE END OF THE CRUISE. EVERYONE WAS sneezing and coughing. There were a lot of infection!!!!